Snowflake Vigilante
by MidnightStriker
Summary: AU: Elsa inherits her parent's company after their unexpected passing, but managing the company puts a strain on her relationship with Anna. When an incident causes Elsa to become a vigilante under the alias "Snow Queen," complications arise when Anna, not knowing that the famous heroine is her sister, develops a massive crush on Elsa's alter-ego. Elsanna.
1. Episode 00: The Letter

**Episode 00: The Letter **

"Ms. Elsa, please come with me."

Elsa turned towards the speaker. It was Mr. Aarons, one of the guidance counselors of Corona University. She gave him a puzzled look, but all she found in his eyes were sympathy. Elsa's mind sounded an alarm; she just finished her final exam for the semester, and was getting ready for her family's visit that evening. As far as she knew, she was not supposed to be in any trouble.

The whole walk to the Mr. Aarons' office, she tried to rack her brain for any infractions she may have unconsciously committed that could warrant a visit to the office. Was it sneakily refilling her soda cup in the cafeteria's vending machine? Was it when she took a handful of blank copy paper from the copier? Was it…oh gods…when she fell asleep during her Economics class?

Elsa was about to think of another scenario when she her thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Aarons' sudden halt. The counselor held the door open with one hand and beckoned her towards the office with the other. Nodding in thanks, Elsa quietly slipped in and took a seat.

Mr. Aarons took his seat behind his mahogany desk and rummaged through his main drawer, obviously looking for something before pulling out a thick envelope. He placed it on the desk, clasped his hands together, and heaved a sigh. Elsa looked at the beige envelope, her eyes widening slightly as she wondered if she was facing expulsion. Mr. Aarons separated his hands, slid the envelope towards her, and whispered, "I'm really, really sorry."

Elsa's thoughts of expulsion flew out the window as she noted her family's crest in white wax sealing the envelope. With shaking hands, she broke the seal and opened the letter to find a copy of her father's last will and testament. Her vision became blurry, and before she could stop her tears, fat drops began hitting the page. Elsa knew that receiving this document meant that she was acting Chief Executive Officer of Arendelle Ice Industries: effective immediately in the event of her parents' death.

"They got into an accident; they slipped on a patch of black ice on the way," Mr. Aarons began, going around and laying a hand on Elsa's shoulder. Elsa didn't say anything; the tears stopped but she still couldn't bring herself to look up. Somehow, she felt deep down that it was her fault that this happened because the family was on their way to see her.

"I…see." She quietly responded, hands still fiddling with the thick document, still lost in thought. Suddenly, she jerked her head up ." What about Anna? My sister? She was supposed to be arriving today with my parents." A cold dread settled into the pit of her stomach as she feared the worst. Mr. Aarons stroked his beard, trying to recall whatever information he may have heard.

"Anna…oh! I heard she got some bruises and scratches; she was spared thank goodness," the counselor nodded. "She was sent to Arendelle's hospital to recuperate after the…"

Before he could finish, Elsa was out the door and all Mr. Aarons heard was a faint "Thank you!"

Elsa quickly made her way back to her apartment. Upon reaching her home, Elsa finished packing her belongings, threw them into the trunk of her car, and sped off towards home. She was going home tonight, Anna was not going to spend the holidays alone, damn it.

* * *

With every mile behind her slowly dissolving the distance between Corona to Arendelle, Elsa reflected back to a home she barely knew. She'd been away from Arendelle for a good 10 years. At 8 years old, her parents sent her overseas to a private boarding school in Corona against her wishes. Elsa remembered how they feared her innate ice powers would further harm her sister Anna, after she accidentally injured her younger sibling during a snowball fight. It was only then that she consented to go out of fear of further harming Anna.

During vacations or term breaks, only her parents would visit. The couple still had their reservations about bringing Anna with them, despite both siblings' protests.

When her parents came over during the recent spring break and Elsa demonstrated mastery over her powers, it was only then that they agreed to spend the holidays with Elsa. But then the accident happened, and now Elsa knew that they could never spend any holiday as a complete family again.

"It was my own selfish insistence that caused this," Elsa noted sadly, "and now Anna's affected by the consequences of this as well." She would be there for her, no matter what it takes. Brushing away her tears with one hand, she resolved that Anna would never feel the loneliness she had, and that she would make it up to her for bringing this tragedy upon them.

* * *

It was nearing midnight when Elsa reached the hospital. She quickly disembarked and ran towards the front desk, quite out of breath as she fumbled for her purse containing her driver's license. "Listen, uh, what room is Anna? She's my sister, you know, victim of the car accident off route 87…" Elsa stammered as she pushed her driver's license towards the clerk for inspection.

The clerk briefly glanced at the card, and as she passed it back to the frazzled blonde, she responded, "Most patients from the emergency room are sent to the third floor—go ask the people over there. They can give you more accurate information about your sister."

Elsa nodded in thanks and headed towards the elevators. Getting off on the third floor, Elsa repeated her inquiry at the nurses' station and was given directions to Room 353. Elsa paused briefly before opening the door, hand lingering on the knob, feelings of anxiety and concern suddenly replaced with nervousness and doubt. _It's been 10 years, after all, _Elsa mused, _and she might not even remember me. She might see me as a stranger, or worse, the big sister who abandoned her. _

Elsa shook her head to clear those unwanted thoughts. _No, that's not right. I shouldn't be so self-centered when my younger sister needs me most right now._ Finishing her inner monologue, Elsa turned the knob and stepped in.

The room was quite dark, with the overhead light dimmed to facilitate sleeping for its sole resident. Elsa quietly pulled up a chair beside Anna's bed. The younger girl seemed alright, save for a few bruises, bandages and an IV line. Elsa watched the redhead's chest rise and fall with her serene breathing. Elsa smiled as she saw how much Anna grew during her absence, and she slowly reached out and stroked Anna's cheek. To her surprise, she found it slightly damp.

Teal eyes fluttered and met bright blue, and Anna blinked a few times to orient herself. When she was focused enough to recognize her midnight visitor, she broke out in a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"Oh, hey big sister," the strawberry blonde grinned, "welcome home!"

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **Hey everyone, MidnightStriker here. It's been over three years since I actually wrote fanfiction, so please forgive me as I may have gotten a bit rusty. Anyway, congratulations on making through the end of this (slightly boring) prologue! I hope it caught your attention enough to stick with me!_

_Thanks for reading!_

_-MidnightStriker_


	2. Episode 01: Work Before Play

**Episode 1: Work before Play **

_**3 years later…**_

Elsa rubbed her aching temples as she put aside another contract. She stared at the pile of paperwork that she was supposed to go through before the 11 o'clock meeting that morning. Despite being up since 4 AM, the pile didn't seem to get any smaller. Sighing, she stood up and went to refill her cup with more coffee. On ordinary days she preferred tea, but coffee gave her the kick to wake up and power through meetings, paperwork, and more meetings.

Deciding to take a brief break, Elsa moved towards the window of her office and sat on the window's ledge. It was wintertime in Arendelle once more, Elsa's favorite time of the year. The blonde found some amusement watching fat snowflakes slowly make their descent. She had to personally see to several items before most of her top managers left for the holiday vacation, as well as finalize deals with other companies before the year-end inventory.

Elsa closed her eyes as she leaned against the window pane and felt slight relief against the cool glass. Her musings were interrupted, however, when she heard familiar footsteps thundering down the hall, along with several servants' screams as they hurried to get out of the way.

Smiling, Elsa put aside her mug as she prepared herself for her visitor. Before she knew it, the door to her study flew open and a flurry of red and magenta held in a tight hug. "Good morning Els!" Anna yelled excitedly, looking up at her older sister.

"Good morning, Anna." Elsa smiled, glancing down at the smaller girl. Unlike Elsa's ever-regal appearance with nary a hair out of place, Anna's hair was all over the place. "You haven't finished braiding your hair yet, have you?" Elsa asked, tucking a strand behind Anna's ear.

Anna pouted. "I did fix my hair this morning! I'm still getting the hang of it! And, well, I was excited to see you." The words came out a mile a minute, faster than Anna's already speedy dialogue on normal days. "And, well, I'm always excited to see you, but today, I'm more excited-er than usual, because you know, today's _the_ day, so yeah!"

_What day?_ Elsa thought in alarm, trying to make sense of the information Anna was telling her. Elsa snuck a glance at the large wall calendar she kept near her work desk. That day's date was circled and noted in glaring red ink as though it was accusing her of forgetting today's important event: It was Anna's skiing competition.

Trying to maintain her regal composure, Elsa looked at Anna. "The competition is today?" Elsa asked the younger girl, a futile attempt as stalling the inevitable. _Somebody shoot me, _she groaned. "Yeah, this afternoon," Anna affirmed, releasing her vice-like grip and stepping backwards, "I gave you your two week's notice, didn't I? And you said yes." The younger girl continued, disappointment evident in her voice.

Elsa didn't immediately respond, she was busy scrolling down her iPad's list of reminders. Today had a very important quarterly meeting scheduled with the heads of several other companies interested in investing in Arendelle Ice Corp., and Elsa simply couldn't get out of it. Elsa cursed herself for not putting down Anna's skiing competition in her iPad. She looked at that iPad more often than the wall calendar.

"Can't you ask one of your friends to go instead? How about that Kristoff guy? He seems decent enough." Elsa asked, hoping to placate the younger girl.

"Uh, Elsa? If you were paying attention to me that time, Kristoff moved away last year. Besides, we've kinda fell out of contact," Anna replied, "besides, there's simply no other feeling in the world when you walk into the field and have the CEO of Arendelle's most important and famous company cheering you ooooooooooooooon." Anna whined.

"But you're heir to this company too, Anna," Elsa responded.

"It's not so fun cheering for yourself. Besides, it's not like I'm officially _part_ of the company." Anna argued. Elsa rubbed her temples again, trying to stave off a worsening headache.

"Anna, you're eighteen years old already. Aren't you embarrassed to be seen with your big sister by now?" Elsa queried, still trying to find excuses to escape the hole she dug herself into.

"Nope! I'll _never_ be embarrassed to be seen with you, Elsa! And you're the one I want cheering for me. You promised that you'd come to my last competition, but you forgot because you had to meet with some head honcho from Weaseltown Co. so you told me you'd come this time." Anna reminded her.

"Besides, I made it to the finals this year because I was hoping that would encourage you to come," the strawberry blonde whispered, lowering her head and blinking furiously to stop the tears from falling.

Elsa bit her lip in guilt, but decided to harden her stance and recite her usual go-to explanation for any conflict that arose between her and Anna. "Well, I'm sorry that I have to run this company that was inherited to us by our parents. It's the only thing that's paying for school, putting food on the table, and paying for other expenses that we incur," she began, "And the fact that I replaced the old CEO means that I have to stabilize the company because of the sudden change of management, as well as—"

"It's been _three years_, Elsa!" Anna yelled, immediately cutting off Elsa's monologue, "wasn't that enough time to 'stabilize the company' or whatever needs to be done? The only real time we spend together is when you're on vacation, but even then you're up to your neck in paperwork! I mean, I gave you your space, followed all your rules like your 'two week's notice for any "extra, non-company related activity,"' and all that! But you _still_ can't 'stabilize' this stupid company?"

"I can't just leave this company to anyone! This is our parents' legacy to us, and what would happen if I would just leave it to anybody, and they take it away from us? You know how important this is to us!" Elsa shot back, but regretted doing so when she saw the hurt deepen in Anna's eyes.

"It doesn't have to be 'anybody,' Elsa," the younger girl responded, "It just has to be someone you trust. You can't bear the weight of the whole world on your shoulders, you know?" With that, Anna left, slamming the door behind her.

Elsa flinched as she remembered Anna softly knocking on that same door, often playfully entreating her to build a snowman. "It didn't even have to be a snowman," she mused sadly. She remembered Anna bringing her food when she couldn't join her for dinner or a warm beverage when the older girl pulled all-nighters.

The CEO dropped onto the nearest chair, and pulled her iPhone. Scrolling to her list of contacts, she found the number she was looking for. She hit call button and waited until her secretary picked up.

"Hello, Gerda?" she began, "I need you to send a message those attending today's 11 o'clock meeting."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **__Hi everyone! Thanks for making it through another chapter. I hope that you're still on board!_

_So! Elsa is asking a trusted and familiar servant to do some last-minute arrangements for this super important meeting. What could it be? Can Elsa do right by Anna and the company? Will she indeed make it to Anna's skiing competition? Where in the world did Kristoff go? All this and more in the next chapter. Until then! _

_-MidnightStriker _


	3. Episode 02: A Lose-Lose Situation

**Episode 02: A Lose-Lose Situation**

Anna let out a loud guffaw as Kai entertained her once more with one of his wild stories. When he was younger, he traveled the world and visited many exotic locales. The round man was a family servant and faithful employee of the company for many years; together with his colleague, Gerda. They served as servants until Elsa appointed them to aid her in the company business, so they still lived with the siblings in the mansion.

Elsa, knowing how the pair had been with Anna longer than she had, assigned them the extra duty of accompanying Anna during mealtimes whenever she could not so that the younger girl would never be alone.

"Was that my sister?" Anna asked the heavyset woman who returned to the table. Gerda had left in the middle of breakfast to pick up an important call; and Anna knew Gerda would never drop what she was doing unless it was anything directly related to her or Elsa.

"Yes miss." Gerda replied, bringing her cup of tea to lips.

"What did she wanna talk about?" Anna pressed.

Gerda paused briefly, and replied, "I am not at liberty to discuss this topic with you, Miss Anna." Anna frowned, trying to mask her annoyance. She stuffed the last piece of toast in her mouth, not even bothering to finish chewing as she pushed away from the breakfast table.

"Thwell thams Gertha aum dum*," she said, spraying crumbs and other food detritus all over the table. The subject of Anna's thanks glanced at the mess left by the strawberry blonde and made a wry face. Redirecting her attention to Anna, Gerda asked, "And where are you off to in such a hurry? It's only 10'o clock; your sister will be leaving in half an hour to go to the office. We can drop you off at the school on our way."

Anna shook her head, still chewing vigorously. "Well, uh, I'm actually going to the slopes for this afternoon's Ski Race." She explained after washing the piece down with orange juice, "I'm meeting up with the rest of my teammates to practice."

"That's no problem; it's still on the way to the office." Gerda answered, not picking up the hint.

Anna mentally rolled her eyes at how dense the secretary was. "Well, see, I have to leave _*now*_and you know how it takes forever for Elsa to prepare herself." As Anna explained, she dug out her skiing gear she threw under the table earlier prior to the arrival of Kai and Gerda.

"Let the lass go," Kai smiled, "if she needs to go, then let us release her from this manse's captive walls!"

Gerda sighed at the lax viewpoint of her colleague. "Well, if anything happens to the little miss, it's all on you Kai." Her remark earned a hearty laugh from the balding man. "Nothing ever happens on my watch, trust me." he replied confidently.

Anna took that as a signal to leave, hastily grabbing her gear and lacing her winter boots as she dashed through the manse's Grand Hall. After her blowout with Elsa, she wanted to leave the manse as quickly as possible and hopefully without running into her older sister. As she reached the bottom of the Great Staircase, however, a familiar voice called out behind her.

"Anna? I thought we were leaving together."

Anna groaned but paused briefly to spare Elsa an angry glare. The older girl was halfway down the staircase, affixing her gloves as she made her descent. As the doorman moved to open the manse's great doors, Anna didn't even wait until they were fully opened. She yanked open the heavy oak doors and slipped out; her skis and poles clattering as she left. Elsa moved to the window and watched Anna's figure quickly grow smaller and smaller. A sigh escaped her lips; this was going to be a long day.

* * *

Elsa's situation didn't improve as she rushed into the conference room. There was unexpected traffic on the Main Street today, and she was half an hour late.

"I profusely apologize for my tardiness, gentlemen," the young CEO said as she set down her briefcase. "That's alright, Miss Elsa," a full-figured, rosy-cheeked man replied, "I _vas _compensated by the fact your company makes the best coffee! May I take some beans home to sample?" "Thank you, Mr. Oaken," Elsa gave a weary smile as she settled down at the head of the conference table; "You may do so if you wish."

"Now _vhat _is a sign of good hospitality!" Mr. Oaken laughed. The other CEO's soon joined his raucous guffaw, "no secrets among business partners, _ja_?"

Oaken glanced around the room and saw that one CEO's face held a dour expression. "_Vhat's _wrong with you, Mr. Weaselton? You look displeased."

"We came here half an hour earlier at your sudden behest to have this meeting end half an hour earlier, and yet _you_ come half an hour late?" Mr. Weaselton complained, "That completely defeats the purpose of this earlier meeting."

Elsa flinched at the man's words, but quickly maintained her composure. "Again, Mr. Weaselton, I apologize. Let us begin now and hopefully clear today's agendas quickly," Elsa snuck a glance at the room's wall clock, "I have somewhere important to be by 4:30."

* * *

Anna did a short jog and clapped her gloves together for some warmth. Her nose and ear tips already tinted red: a sign that she had been out in the cold for awhile. It was almost time for her race, and still no Elsa in sight.

The loudspeaker called, "…aaaaand it looks like today's Winter Games are heating up! Arendelle High is in the lead in the snowboarding and freestyle skiing competitions with 518 points! Atlantica Prep is a close second with 515 points! Third is DunBroch High with 484 points! Now the final event: Ski Racing! It's still anybody's game with this Final Event: the Alpine Ski Race!"

Rapunzel, Anna's teammate who competed in freestyle skiing, came by and gave her a friendly punch on her shoulder. "Take it home, Ice Girl." She said.

Anna blew out a breath and adjusted her helmet and gloves.

Positioning herself with four other racers, she took a quick glance at her competition. There was Ariel from Atlantica, a vacant-gazed guy named "Dingwall" representing DunBroch, and a no-name student from some obscure school. She smiled: this would be an easy win.

As she waited for the others to position themselves at the top of the slalom, a small part of her hoped that Elsa's call for Gerda that morning meant that she called off the meeting and would surprise her by showing up; but apparently "The Business" was still more important to Elsa as she was still absent. A movement caught her eye and she looked towards the bleachers as a latecomer was making their way to a seat. In their hands was a bouquet of flowers and ribbons bearing the colors of Arendelle Corporation.

The young girl's heart skipped a bit. Could it be…?

As the person took a seat, the flowers were quickly put aside, and Anna's eyes locked with…Kai's. The portly man gave her a big grin and a wave, excitedly pointing at the bouquet. He made some wild hand movements to indicate that they were from Elsa. Anna rolled her eyes; annoyed that Elsa actually thought flowers would make everything better.

The starter took his position and announced, "Racers, on your mark…" Anna got into the starting stance, trying not to think about Elsa's absence…

"…get set!..."

She would win, despite that. Who needs Elsa, anyway?

"…GO!"

The racers took off in a cloud of snow. As she tried not to lose focus, Anna found herself still affected by Elsa's absence more than she thought she would be.

She missed the first gate, then the second. There were audible groans from Arendelle High's side. Anna narrowed her eyes, determined not to lose her concentration. She made it through the fourth gate, but failed to keep a consecutive streak as she continued the course. To make matters worse, she came in fourth place, just in time to see Dingwall doing a goofy victory dance at his first-place victory.

"And the winners of this year's competition are the DunBroch Highlanders!" the announcer cried.

Rapunzel, Anna, and their other teammates huddled together with sullen looks, trying to block out the cheers and bagpipe music. "We'll get them next year, right?" Rapunzel said, trying to lift their spirits. "Smile for the paper," a student photographer from Arendelle High called as he snapped the picture; capturing a memory Anna would very much rather forget.

* * *

_(Anna's gibberish earlier up:) _*"Well thanks Gerda I'm done."

_**A/N: **Whoa who whoa! I'm so blown away by your interest in this story! I'll do my best not to disappoint. Thank you all so much for your reviews, favs and follows! I certainly didn't expect this many followers and favs and reviews in the first two days. Thank you so much, I'm humbled._

_Looks like Elsa's solution didn't really work out after all, did it? Oh well...if you try to walk down two roads you'll split your pants._

_Special thanks to **darksaber92, JPElles,**and **DJGrand **as well as 2 **guests **who dropped reviews. They make me smile! I appreciate your interest and kind words. Here's to the next chapter, my friends._

_-MS_


	4. Episode 03: The Catalyst

**Episode 03: The Catalyst **

_**Warning/s: **__Mild violence ahead _

Elsa groaned as she walked briskly towards the slopes where the competition was being held. Despite her best efforts, the meeting still ended later than expected and she knew she would be tardy for Anna's competition. A part of her hoped could still make it in time, and she prayed that Kai at least was able to arrive first with her apology bouquet.

Because of traffic, Elsa opted to go the rest of the way on foot; taking a shortcut through some residential areas. In hindsight, it was not the best decision as this neighborhood was not considered one of the safest. Despite that, the blonde briskly made her way around alleys, determined to make it to Anna and hopefully smooth things over with her younger sister.

However, as she rounded around a corner, she heard a gruff voice say, "An' where do you think yer goin', small fries?" She froze, thinking someone saw her, until she heard a child's whimpering and a young boy say, "Don't lay a hand on my finger, you big bully! Or I'll beat you up!"

That declaration was met with mocking laughter. "An' how are yer plannin' to do that, lil' dude?"

Elsa inched closer to the voices. She cautiously peered around a wall and saw two young children: a young boy not much older than 8, and a little girl of about 5 sniffling behind him. "What do you want from us? We don't have any money!" the boy yelled, still standing his ground.

The first speaker, a heavyset teenager with unruly brown hair, replied, "D'ya expect us to believe that when yer wearin' designer clothes? Looks like someone got separated from their nanny, huh?"

The boy blanched; the rouge obviously hit home. "P-please, just let us go...we won't tell..." he answered, his bravado gone. The girl began sobbing louder, and the circle of bullies pressed closer. "You'll make fer a mighty fine ransum," a tall, wiry teen asserted, "we can't jus' let you go."

As the circle closed in, Elsa decided it she couldn't let this happen. Pulling up the hood of her coat to conceal her identity, she stepped out of her hiding place. Still unnoticed by the bullies, she quickly formed a large snowball and hurled it at the broader teen. "Ei! Whut! Who hit me?" he quickly spun around and caught sight of Elsa. Seeing an opportunity to escape the thugs, the two children ran up to Elsa for protection.

"Ei hoodie, looks like you wanna join in the fun," he grinned turning the gang's attention on Elsa. She stood her ground, hands balled up into fists. "Let those kids go. How dare you pick on the weak and helpless?" she said, fixing an icy glare on the bullies.

"You got lucky with the first hit, girly, but you won't have time to make another one that big," the bully answered, "Get her!"

As the other thugs made their way to Elsa, she created patches of ice along the street causing them to slip. "You incompetent fools! She's just a girl!" the broad teen yelled, "I'll take her down myself!" As he jumped over his fallen companion's bodies, Elsa created an ice wall and shielded herself and the two children. Freezing a patch of ground once more, the broad teen slipped and slammed into the wall of ice.

"Wh-what…how did you…" he mumbled, spitting out blood. He stood up punched through a weaker section of the wall, his fist connecting with Elsa's jaw. This stunned the blonde, and sent her sprawling backwards. Elsa shook her head to clear her head and tried to regain focus. "Looks like you weren't that tough after all," the broad boy grinned, grabbing Elsa's throat and lifting her effortlessly off the ground, "looks like your magic tricks are done."

Elsa struggled against his grip as he was slowly cutting off her air supply. Hearing the children's screams, however, reignited her fighting spirit. She let loose a blast of icy air towards the bully's chest, releasing herself from the bully's grip. He coughed and gasped. Elsa moved over to him, eyes glowing blue.

"Try something like this again and something worse will befall you," Elsa warned, ice crystals dancing dangerously around her right hand. "You're a w-witch! That's what you are!" the wiry bully yelled out.

"Let's get out of here before she gets our souls!" the broad boy said, scrambling to his feet. With that, the other gang members picked themselves up and quickly dispersed.

The crisis averted, Elsa knelt down to be at eye-level with the children. "Are you OK? Are you hurt?" she asked in concern, turning their faces over to make sure that they were not harmed. "Thanks miss! You really saved us!" the young boy said as he and his sister embraced Elsa. "An' you're not a witch, miss," the girl whispered, "you're a superhero!"

_A superhero, _Elsa mused, _I like the sound of that._

"John? Allie?" a frazzled woman in an expensive suit called out, "Where are you?"

"Mom!" with that, the two children released their grip and ran towards their mother. "I was looking for you all everywhere!" "We got separated from Nana, an' got cornered, but that nice lady saved us," John said, motioning towards the space where they emerged.

The woman moved towards the alley to reward her children's savior. But when she arrived at the entrance, she found no one there.

* * *

Elsa resumed her walk, rubbing her jaw as she did so. Although she undoubtedly knew that that skirmish made her even later to Anna's event, she had no regrets doing what she did.

_I've never felt that free in years, _Elsa thought, _it feels so cathartic; plus it feels nice to do good _and _actually be appreciated for it. And to see that my powers are finally being used in helping others. _

Elsa stowed those thoughts away when her destination come into view, but was a tad surprised to find people milling outside. She checked her watch: 6:15 PM. _Drat,_ she thought, _I've_ definitely _missed Anna's event._ Elsa scanned the perimeter for a familiar almost-redhead, and quickly found the girl with the ski team and Kai.

As she closed the distance between her and Anna, the younger girl caught her eye but quickly ducked.

"How's my champion skier?" Elsa asked as she reached Anna, trying to catch her breath. "Where's that tro—" Elsa was cut off by Kai making similar wild hand gesticulations he did earlier, a panicked look in his eyes. Elsa shot him a puzzled look, but noting how the other team members flinched at her words, the blonde quickly picked up on what happened. "Oh, my apologies Anna…"

"Well, I'll see you Anna," Rapunzel waved, "don't worry…uh, I'll make sure your blood won't be spilled at school tomorrow. Good night, Ms. Elsa." The other girls gave their farewells and quickly sprinted away from the siblings.

Putting an arm around Anna, Elsa softly murmured, "I'm sorry you didn't win."

"Whatever," Anna huffed, "let's just go home."

"Pizza for dinner sounds good to you?" Elsa asked gently, looking at Anna.

"Whatever." Anna repeated, shoving her hands deeper in her pockets; still refusing to meet her sister's gaze.

* * *

Dinner at the Pizza Galaxy was a silent affair; both sisters barely exchanged words as they ate. Anna noted that Elsa seemed unaffected, as she had a dreamy look the entire time they were in the restaurant. For her part, Elsa still felt elated about that afternoon's events that she often turned it over in her mind and imagining the possibilities of using her powers for good.

As they drove home, Elsa turned to Anna. "Did you get the flowers I sent you?"

"Yeah." Anna huffed, looking away.

"Did you like them?" Elsa pressed, scooting closer to Anna.

"They had your colors splashed all over them."

"Anna, don't be like that. Tell me what's bothering you. You've never been angry for this long; surely you've forgiven me by now for being tardy?" Elsa said, gently rubbing Anna's shoulder. "After all, I came all that way to watch you."

"Yeah, to watch me lose." Anna grumbled. "Anyway, what's got you all dreamy? Don't think that I didn't notice your dreamy eyes the entire time we were in Pizza Galaxy. I was sitting directly across from you, after all."

Elsa blushed slightly, embarrassed that Anna caught her daydreaming. "Well," she began, her mind racing to come up with a legitimate excuse. "I just closed a deal with—" Elsa stopped herself in midsentence, noting that if there's anything Anna needed to hear right now, it was _definitely_ not something about "The Business."

She cleared her throat and started again. "I was just happy to see that you made it to the Finals, that means a lot to me."

"Even if I didn't win?" Anna asked.

"Even if you didn't win. It's nice see you actually putting some effort towards anything at all." Elsa replied as she gave Anna a tiny poke.

"Hey, I put effort in a lot of stuff," Anna pouted, but her mood was noticeably lighter. "Like…like getting up early in the morning so I'm the first person you see! And carefully picking out my clothes so I'll look good when I see you! And eating all my vegetables at dinner time, so you don't scold me, and also…"

Elsa's laugh cut off Anna's ramblings. "It seems as if I'm your main incentive for doing anything at all, Anna."

"Hehe…I guess so." Anna blushed a little bit. "But you're so perfect and regal and beautiful that I guess I just have this need to impress you."

"Oh Anna, I'm not perfect." Elsa said, "we all have our own little idiosyncrasies, and that's what makes each of us unique."

"Philosopher Elsa strikes again!" Anna hooted.

"Say that again and that will be the last thing you'll ever say." Elsa said in mock-anger, tickling Anna's sides. The girls' echoing laugh caused Kai and the chauffeur to smile, knowing that all was now well.

When both girls were spent by laughter and jokes, they sank wearily into their seats. Elsa had her eyes closed, and Anna was gazing out the window. As they traveled the final mile towards their destination, Anna turned towards Elsa, "Hey Els, one more thing," she began, "sorry for being so rude this morning."

"That's alright, Anna, we all have our days." Elsa smiled.

"Yeah," Anna nodded. "And one more thing…"

"Anna, 'one more thing' usually means that that's the last thing you'll tell me." Elsa joked.

"No, I'm seriously serious," Anna said, straightening up and looking straight at her sister, "this is mighty important."

"Alright, I'll consider this 'one more thing' of yours since it's 'mighty important,'" Elsa said, eyes still shut.

"What's with the blood on your shirt?"

* * *

**A/N: **_Weeell. Looks like my self-imposed limit of at least 1,000-1,500 words a chapter is out the window! I'd rather finish one event in one go than stretch it out for more chapters than necessary; even if it means that a chapter will be little long. _

_All is now well between the sisters. But how will Elsa explain the blood? Will she tell Anna of her first vigilante activity (HINT: read the summary and you'll more or less find the answer. Or wait for the next chapter)? This chapter sets the ball rolling for our "Snow Queen," and the seeds of Elsanna have now been planted! 'Til the next update, dear readers!_

_-MidnightStriker_


	5. Episode 04: Delegation

**Episode 04: Delegation **

"…A zit." Anna repeated, her eyes squinting dubiously, "Wow. You're right…you're not that perfect after all."

Elsa tried to stifle a not-so-regal laugh threatening to come from her lips. But simply looking at Anna's incredulous face at her off-the-cuff explanation of the bloodstain on her shirt was simply too adorable. The stain itself wasn't too large to be considered a grievous injury, but it wasn't small enough to go unnoticed, either.

While Elsa completely forgot the stain on her dress shirt due to her elation with her heroics and Anna's forgiveness, she neglected the fact that it could be picked up by her highly observant sister.

So, gathering some confidence in the fact that Anna seemed _somewhat_ satisfied with her lie, Elsa nodded and repeated herself.

"Yes, Anna. I had a bigger z…pustule than I expected, and I must have ruptured it by mistake."

"Huh." Anna moved closer to inspect the stain, and Elsa was thankful it was dark in the vehicle. At the same time, she prayed that Anna wouldn't look for the purported blood source underneath the fabric of her dress shirt.

After a few tense seconds, Anna, seemingly satisfied, returned to her previous location and commented, "It musta been a pretty huge zit."

Only then did Elsa let out the laugh she was holding in. It wasn't that Anna was dim—the younger girl was still quite naïve and trusting by virtue of her age. Anna joined in, too, and after they settled down once more, Anna turned to her elder sister. "It's nice to hear you laugh again, Elsa. I mean, _really _laugh. I feel like it's been too long since we've had fun like this."

"Yes, indeed." Elsa replied, flashing a smile of her own. "I hope we can have many more times like this."

"Yeah, me too." Anna's head bobbed up and down in agreement.

The younger girl then seemed to switch to a more reflective pose, and they were nearing the manse's gates when she spoke once more.

"So…can I see it?" Anna asked.

"See…what?" Elsa queried back, a little red flag rising at the back of her mind.

"You know. The zit. I still find it hard to believe that your perfect porcelain skin is marred by something only we humans get." Anna joked.

Elsa stifled another laugh and tried to stave off a blush. Hearing praise from the strawberry blonde was better than the ones from her employees: they were genuine admiration, not just paltry words of someone thinking a few honeyed compliments would net favor. But still, Elsa couldn't blow her cover—family or not. As their car came to a halt in front of the mansion's doors, Elsa turned to Anna with her response.

"Sorry little miss," Elsa joked, putting a finger on the tip of Anna's nose. "As you can see, it's in a rather sensitive spot, and it's rather shy. Just like someone I know."

"Hey!" Anna protested.

"Besides, I wouldn't want to mar the perfect image of me you have in your head now, do I?" the older blonde coyly replied, taking a servant's offered hand as she exited the car.

"What the…hey!" Anna protested once more, not trying to fight back the blush spreading across her face. Unlike her sister, in Anna's rush she ignored the footman's offered hand and rushed to the mansion; but the blonde was too quick for her. In the few seconds she took to enter the manse, Elsa was already lost to the many doors and hallways of the seemingly labyrinthine structure.

* * *

Knowing Anna would look for her in one of two places: her office or her bedroom, Elsa opted to make a detour to her father's old study to reflect on today's events. She often came to this room when pondering tough decisions, and perhaps it was time to make another one. Splitting her energies between newfound realization and "The Business" would heavily tax her, so during the ride home, she decided there were changes that had to be done.

Elsa threw herself into an armchair and spread an arm across her forehead. She felt the day's earlier combination of euphoria and adrenaline was wearing off. She was exhausted and her limbs felt like bricks. Although all she wanted to do was climb into a warm bubble bath, what she was about to do absolutely needed to be done. Using her free hand, Elsa pressed a button that was under the desk.

A few seconds later, there was a gentle tap on the door.

"Come in," Elsa called, still not moving from her slouched position.

"I brought some tea, Miss Elsa," Gerda announced, setting the tray gently near the edge of the desk.

"Thank you, Gerda. Can you also call Kai?" Elsa continued.

"I'll send for him at once, ma'am."

Elsa straightened herself and poured a cup of tea as soon as Gerda left. She figured that it would at least relax her and aid her in gathering her thoughts before making them reality. Elsa gently blew on the peppermint brew and took a small sip, enjoying the warmth the tea provided after a cold day.

True to her word, Gerda immediately returned with Kai. Elsa noticed the man was panting heavily. "Did you run all the way here, Kai?" Elsa queried, setting down the cup. "No Miss Elsa," Kai answered as he dabbed his glistening brow with a handkerchief. "I had to stave off a certain little miss as to not disclose your whereabouts. She can be a persistent one."

Elsa smiled, an inexplicable pleasure passing through her being at the knowledge that Anna was still looking for her.

"Do you need a doctor too, Miss Elsa? I heard Anna asking about blood and all…" Kai continued.

"No, thank you, Kai. I'll be fine," Elsa answered. "Please, have a seat. We have something important to discuss."

The elder employees took their seats as Elsa took a deep breath. Finally, she began. "Listen, I know that you have been with the company for longer than I was born. First as house servants, now as employees."

Both nodded, still looking at Elsa quizzically.

"But as you can see, I cannot handle everything on my own. From this moment on, Gerda, you will no longer be only my secretary. You will be my Chief Operating Officer and act in my absence. Kai, I promote you to be my Chief Accounting Officer and oversee the company finances. Both of you will answer to no one but me, and I will make this formal announcement at tomorrow's board meeting. Is that clear?"

Both servants sat stunned. Gerda was the first to recover, and overcome with emotion, she answered, "thank you for this honor, Miss Elsa!"

"We promise to do our best for the company; you are like family to us," Kai joined in, dabbing his eyes with his sweat-soaked handkerchief. Both women made a face as Kai burst out in more tears.

"As you know, I would like to spend more time with Anna," Elsa continued with her explanation, "so I believe that I will take her advice not to simply carry the weight of this company on my shoulders. So I'm not just asking for help from just anybody…" Elsa rose to shake her two most faithful employee's hands, "…I'm asking the assistance of people I trust."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **__I always give myself a hard time beginning a new chapter when I end with cliffhangers like the previous one (haha)! So we come to a close of another chapter! Did Elsa make the right decision? Will this affect the chain of command somewhat? Is spending time with Anna really her only reason (this one's pretty obvious I hope =P )? Anyway, I'm *still* blown away by the follows, favs and reviews this fic continues to receive! You guys are AWESOME._

_**Saiberia, 0109Silver, battousai24 **__and __**Guest1: **__Thank you! I will definitely be consistently updating!_

_**Guest 2: **__I am thankful for this comment! At first I wasn't sure if putting them in a modern/AU world was going to work, so this is encouraging! Thank you for your support :) _

_**syuchang: **__I think Elsa's explanation is satisfactory (haha! I'm kidding. If I were Anna I would pester her more—and that's not just to see the zit –coughifyouknowwhatimean-). Anyway, yes, when I first published this story it always said "Story not found—Error 01" or something like that. Thank you for showing interest! I hope you continue to stick with this ;) _

_So! Elsa gets some boring business stuff out of the way. What awaits our vigilante in the next "episode?" Stay tuned! _

_-MS _


	6. Episode 05: The Return of the Ice Man

**Episode 05: The Return of the Ice Man **

Elsa rose up that morning earlier than the sun. Elsa was glad that she had the foresight to take today off, as today would involve a lot of planning. She felt only semi-refreshed and craved more sleep, but she knew she had a lot to do. Though she had no knowledge of this type of "job," she had a good grasp on secrecy; being isolated for too long had some advantages in this line of work.

Being an orderly, to-do list kind of person, Elsa had her day planned out. Among the first things she had was to plan a disguise. Of course, nobody should know the identity of their mysterious, under-the-table do-gooder.

_Besides, _Elsa shuddered, _who knows what consequences the innocents—Gerda, Kai, ANNA…_the final name caused her breath to hitch, _will face when evildoers know they're associated with me. _Elsa shook her head to dispel the unpleasant thoughts. _That's why I must keep them safe. And to do that, I have to drastically change my image when I'm out crime fighting. _

Walking over to the full-length mirror, Elsa pulled the pin holding her neat bun and French braid together. Her blonde tresses softly tumbled around her shoulders, and Elsa swept a hand through her hair. _Not bad,_ she thought, _practical. I like it._

Elsa spent a few seconds in front of the mirror admiring her new "look." This new hairstyle: her hair was swept away from her face, and her French Braid was replaced with a loose, elegant side braid. This look mirrored the freedom she felt inside, and it was a hairstyle neither Anna nor other servants ever saw before. If she had a mask to conceal her face, she would be absolutely unrecognizable. The idea of a tailor was out the window; Elsa did not want any other persons involved in her extra "activities." As she pondered her predicament, a thought suddenly came to her.

_Hmmm,_ Elsa mused, _I can use ice to_ create _things…__but can I use this magic to weave_ clothing?

The ice maiden took a deep breath to calm her mind and regain focus. Within the next few seconds, little flurries of ice and snow crystals danced along her figure as it weaved and entwined to create strong yet flexible fabric.

"Perfect," Elsa breathed as she slipped on her newly made mask, "this is really good."

But how to get it off?

Elsa tried reversing the process, and realized it was as easy as conjuring the outfit at will. This would prove indispensable should she sustain any damages; it was economically efficient and conformed to her ideals of secrecy. Outfit design out of the way, Elsa pondered on a moniker. "Ice Maiden, Frost Lass…" she mused, tapping a pencil idly against her desk.

The blonde didn't get beyond that, however, when a loud _BOOM _came from the direction of Snowflake Street. Hearing this as a call to her next mission, Elsa donned her new attire, slipped through the window, and raced towards the source of the explosion.

* * *

The clock ticked slower than usual today, it seemed.

Anna twirled a braid between her fingers as she waited for the bell to ring, signaling the end of third period. School had barely begun for the day, yet all Anna wanted to do was go home. After yesterday's skiing blunder, Anna kept a low profile and generally avoided everyone; especially those from Arendelle High's Sports clubs and/or their cheerleaders and fans who would certainly blame her for the Ski Team's defeat.

The young girl briefly considered staying home earlier, but quickly realized that was not an option, as Elsa would be on Anna's case all day and talk about the importance of school and academia and how it would help her future or some other talk similar to that.

Cradling her head in her hands, Anna tried to listen to Mr. Sebastian's boring lecture as he droned on and on about the biomes of the world. _I just want this day to end,_ Anna groaned.

Her wish was instantly granted when fire truck sirens, followed by the sounds of several people screaming, brought Mr. Sebastian's voice to a halt.

"You sit t'were y'at," the substitute geography teacher said, setting down his book, "we'll see what t' pro'blem 's ina minnit." The teacher's beefy hands—which Anna swore almost looked like claws—were raised and motioning the students to stay seated. A few seconds later, a voice crackled over the intercom.

"Today's classes are ended. Students, please leave the building in a quiet and orderly fashion." The principal's voice announced, "Go straight home, but take a detour if you have to pass by Snowflake Street." Of course, the mention of Snowflake Street's involvement with this unknown danger caused every adventurous student to make up their minds to go there, and Anna was one of them.

"Yeh 'eard 't principal, nonna you gwaan to Snow'flake Street nuh," Mr. Sebastian warned, "Curiosity killed t'fish, unno?"

His warnings went unheeded, however, as the thundering footfalls of students rushed to get a spectator's space in the tiny avenue of Snowflake Street.

* * *

Anna rushed to the site, groaning when she saw the more fleet-footed students arriving before her: both from her school and from others. She tried to push to the front the best she could, and stood on her tiptoes to see what was going on. All she saw were Arendelle's fire trucks and some smoke coming from Old Man Igor's bakery. Putting two and two together, she figured out the cause of the incident. As she prepared to go, something unusual caught her eye. She saw the familiar white news vans with the logo of ANT5.

_Why is Arendelle National TV's trucks here? _Anna wondered, _was Mr. Igor a victim of arson?_

As she shrugged it off and turned to leave once more, she heard a familiar voice.

"…An unknown heroine saved Old Man Igor's bakery," the burly newscaster reported as Mr. Igor waved from his spot beside the reporter.

The reporter continued, "this heroine put out the fire before Arendelle's fire trucks came over, effectively minimizing damages and the possibility of any casualties. I have the bakery's proprietor with me right now. Did you get a good look this heroine, sir?"

"She was amazing!" Igor commented, flailing his hands, "She had ice powers and put out the fire with just those! I mean, ice melts to water, and…"

"So you're saying she wasn't just a local citizen?" the reporter pressed on.

"Unless you count having ice powers as normal, than she was really, really normal, hehehe!" the elderly man grinned. "She had this amazing glittery cape, flowing blonde hair…"

Turning back to the camera, the reporter commented, "Looks like any troublemakers should keep an eye out for our latest heroine, the Snowflake Street Vigilante! We'll bring more news on the identity of this mysterious ice-wielding entity as it comes. Back to you, Hilda."

The blond put down his mic and headed towards his cameraman. "Well, looks like that's a wrap, Sven." Turning to Mr. Igor, the reporter said, "Thank you for your time, sir." Mr. Igor nodded and when returned to his bakery to assess the damages caused by the fire.

The reporter stroked his furry companion's neck as other crewmen from the station wrapped up wires and prepared to leave the station. "Another day's work is done, eh, old friend?" he offered the reindeer a plump carrot to snack on as he waited for the news crew to finish loading any remaining equipment into the news trucks.

"KRISTOFF! Finally! I thought I would explode from impatience over here!"

The piercing shriek of his name caused the blond man to pause his monologue with his reindeer and turn around. "Feisty Pants?! Is that you?" he replied as Anna pushed through the human sea and ran up to him. Kristoff cinched her arms around her waist and spun her in a circle, to the jealousy of some of the other girls.

"Hey Sven! Great to see you!" Anna greeted, giving the reindeer a huge hug. Sven snorted in greeting as he took in Anna's hug. "Wait, I think I have a carrot over here. Elsa insisted I eat some vegetables for lunch, but I was thinking for using it as a snowman's nose, so I didn't eat it, which is a good thing 'cause I have something to give Sven! And I know that he can't get enough carrots!"

Kristoff laughed as Anna offered his best friend a treat. Suddenly, his brow furrowed. "Elsa? Anna, do you mean the sister you told me about, the sister who your parents sent away when you guys were little?"

"Yeah," Anna said, "Kristoff! We have _soooooooooooo_ much catching up to do! Can you spare a few minutes, Mr. Big shot?"

Kristoff and Sven glanced at the news crew, and the blond man shrugged. "I guess so; I mean we're all done for today. We covered this bit," he laughed, "Should we go over to our favorite hunting grounds?"

"You mean the Smokin' Oaken?" Anna grinned, "Come on! Let's go!"

* * *

Kristoff opted for a seat near the café's windows to keep an eye out for Sven. The reindeer was tied outside, contentedly munching on carrots Kristoff left for him. After the pair ordered their usual, Anna slouched back in her seat and grinned.

"Kristoff it's been toooooo long!" she laughed, "So many things have changed! I told you earlier I'm staying with Elsa now. You know she's my sister who was sent to Corona. After our parents died, she took over the company, and she's fun if she's not stressed. The End." Anna finished her life story during the past three years in three sentences.

"My condolences on your loss," Kristoff said sympathetically, "I tried to go, but as you can see…"

"It's OK I understand! But you didn't even tell me you were coming back over here! How could you not? Wait…" Anna paused, and leaned over to the blond, "…don't tell me Pabbie doesn't allow you to use the internet? Or there's no internet over at Living Rock Valley? We haven't communicated since you left!"

Kristoff opened his mouth as he tried to get a word in edgewise over Anna's excited banter.

"Or, or!" Anna pressed on, holding up a finger to override Kristoff's forming protest, "…you don't know how to send an e-mail!"

Kristoff cleared his throat and twisted his cap. "Yes, well," he began, "as you can see, I'm working as a reporter for ANT5 now."

"ANT5? I always laugh when I hear that station name." Anna giggled. "And you have a _reindeer_ for a cameraman." Anna noted dryly, although she gave Sven a fond look.

"He can hold a camera steadier than any other cameraman in the station and run thrice as fast," Kristoff beamed with pride, "If Sven could talk, I bet he could be the best reporter ANT5 ever had! So we were assigned as partners, and I won't have it any other way."

"So a reindeer is _still_ better than a man. You're hopeless, Kristoff!" Anna grinned, earning a mock glare from the blond. Their food arrived just then, and Anna immediately began to devour her chocolate cake.

"Don't laugh Anna, that's the best news station Arendelle has!" Kristoff countered. "Anyway, I'm back in here because the higher-ups sent me to get the scoop on one developing news story."

"What's this news story you're chasing?" Anna continued between bites of her treat.

"I'm not really supposed to tell anyone about this," Kristoff replied, "But you're my best friend, so I'm going to tell you anyway! My boss told me this job is somewhat under wraps, because if other news stations get on this bandwagon, competition will be harder. So again," Kristoff stressed his final sentence, "don't. tell. Anyone. About. This."

"Sure won't," Anna replied nonchalantly, immediately devouring her treat. "You know we've always kept each other's secrets. You're my best friend, Kristoff."

"Thanks Anna. I knew I could count on you." Kristoff smiled as he began to indulge in the Baked Alaska he ordered.

"So," Anna went on, "what's this 'super-secret scoop' you've been sent to investigate? Was it related to the incident earlier or was that just some filler news you happened to come by?"

Kristoff nodded as he carefully picked his next words. "That incident _was_ part of the reason; I was sent here to look for a citizen-turned-vigilante who is rumored to have ice powers. They have no alias yet, but from what I've heard, local townspeople refer to her as 'the Snow Queen.'"

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Anyone readers play Pokemon? Did you notice my "Frost Lass" easter egg? :D Anyway, we've come to another close. I bet you all thought the "Ice Man," was some sort of villain? Snowflake Vigilante reached 100 followers! I'm so excited that YOU are excited. I'm bursting with ideas faster than I can type, and I hope to update consistently to keep you hungry readers satisfied! :) _

_**TheElementHero: **__Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad to have you on board._

_**Scholar of Justice: **__Without giving away too much, there will be 2 major antagonists in this story!...that's all I have to say for now :D_

_**syuchang & battousai24: **__Hmmm…I think we *may* find out the answer to your questions in the upcoming chapter ;) _

_Costume, check! Name…not yet decided! But will Elsa accept the name local citizens have given her? Will she spend time with Anna as she told us previously? Will Kristoff's involvement further involvement further complicate things? Check back in the next episode!_

_-MS _

_P.S. I __plan to post my ideas of Elsa's costume design on my tumblr! I was just so excited to put this chapter up that I wasn't able to finish it on time. I'll put up a link in the next Episode so you can take a look! _


	7. Episode 06: Initial Exposure

**Episode 06: Initial Exposure **

"Well…OK. Good luck with that."

Kristoff blinked as Anna's next words still carried an air of nonchalance in contrast to the gravity of the secret he just revealed to her.

"That's it?" Kristoff asked, somewhat dumbstruck at Anna's response, "You're not even going to offer to help me?"

"Yeah, I mean, I don't know much about this 'Snow Queen,' you're talking about," Anna explained, "And I might just get in the way or something."

Kristoff covered his face with his palm and was silent for the next few minutes, his body shaking slightly now and then.

_Uh-oh,_ Anna thought, circling around the table as she threw an arm around Kristoff. "Hey Kristoff! Did I make you cry? Your ears are kind of red…" Anna poked the burly man's back. "Kristoff? Sorry Kristoff! I'll pay for your meal and everything just stop crying!"

It was then that Kristoff let loose his loud guffaw, earning the pair annoyed glances from other patrons. "Sorry! Sorry! Nothing to see here except a big dude apparently-not-bawling!" Anna called out, waving her hands to remove unwanted attention "please return to your regularly scheduled programming."

Turning back to Kristoff, she gave him a punch on the shoulder. "And you, don't ever scare me like that again!"

"I'm sorry," Kristoff managed to reply, trying to catch his breath, "it's just that you haven't changed at all, Anna."

"Yeah and you're still such a dude," Anna mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Anna replied, "Just happy you're not crying or whatever. I was scared for a moment there you got _too_ much of my girly charms."

Kristoff laughed as he placed several bills on the counter to pay for their snack. "My treat, feisty pants. Come on, let's walk you home."

"Yeah, you're the one with the job," Anna muttered as the duo exited the café.

* * *

Anna finished her homework earlier than usual that evening. Whether the reason was that her homework was an easy topic or the knowledge that Kristoff will be staying in Arendelle for some time, Anna didn't know either. The young girl glanced at the clock; it was only 8:30 and most of the good shows were starting.

Anna stood to her feet, stretched out the few kinks and knots she acquired while doing her homework, and wandered to the guest room where the television was.

Anna quickly located the remote and plopped herself on the oversized armchair, a favorite spot of hers whenever she was in the room. She idly flipped through the channels, trying to find a good show. As she browsed through the channels, Anna remembered Kristoff's story and decided to see what the blond's huge secret scoop was all about.

The girl didn't watch the news often, so she hoped that she didn't miss Kristoff's segment. Thankfully, ANT5 was still beginning to air the day's earlier events and news. Anna breathed a sigh of relief as she curled up to a comfortable position on the armchair.

_If anything, I can laugh at Kristoff's mistakes,_ Anna smiled, _that's sure to provide tons of entertainment for now._

"…_and you can see how our heroine has total control over snow and ice_," Kristoff's voice can be heard as the camera followed a blue and blonde streak. Anna giggled as she imagined Sven behind the camera. _Who in their right mind would employ a reindeer?_ she giggled. As she watched, footage showed the "Snow Queen" conjuring an ice slide to aid her exit, along with several thick ice barriers to discourage news crew and civilian alike from following her.

"_This mysterious individual managed to put out Old Man Igor's Bakery Fire_," the burly reporter continued, "_and here are a few more shots our crew was able to capture before this Snowflake Street Vigilante fled the scene._"

Anna watched, entranced as the blonde heroine extinguished the fire through effectively aimed ice blasts, rescued the residents of the building, and ensured that no one would take advantage of the commotion and loot whatever remained of the bakery. Around this time, Anna noted, several residents began to watch as the Snow Queen tirelessly worked to ensure safety and order before local authorities arrived. When the Snow Queen finally realized she was being filmed, she quickly made her exit.

_Wow,_ Anna breathed as she watched the heroine tirelessly working to restore order, _she's beautiful._

"What are you watching?"

"AH!" Anna quickly jumped at the sound of Elsa's voice. Elsa blinked at Anna's overreaction, but smiled and stroked the younger girl's hair in an effort to calm her down. "Sorry to scare you." Elsa apologized as took a seat on the couch. The older girl carefully balanced her cup and saucer, taking care not to spill its contents. As she watched the images play across the television screen, the blonde figured out the answer to her earlier question. Turning back to Anna, Elsa queried, "So what's your interest with the news all of a sudden?"

Anna recovered from her fright and turned to Elsa, answering the blonde with a question of her own. "Are you done with your paperwork for the evening? I wasn't expecting to see you until I said good night."

Elsa feigned hurt. "Are you saying you don't want to see me?"

"No, no, NO! That's not it at all. I'm actually pleasantly surprised!" Anna explained.

Elsa laughed gently. "I know. I'm just teasing. So," Elsa waved a hand towards the screen to redirect Anna's attention to the news, "anything happened today that has gotten you so interested in the news?"

"Kristoff's a reporter in ANT5," Anna said, excitedly.

"Kristoff?" Elsa's brow furrowed as she took a sip of peppermint tea, "I know you talk about him often, but I think we've never formally met. Care to refresh my memory?"

Anna waited until Kristoff appeared once more. "That's Kristoff. He's a friend I met maybe a year after you left." Anna explained, a large grin on her face.

"Ah, I see."

"And I ran into him today! He was covering some cool news scoop around Arendelle, so he'll be staying awhile." Anna continued as she watched Kristoff's interview with Mr. Igor from earlier that afternoon.

"I was actually there when that happened, you know." Anna went on, seemingly unaware of Elsa's sudden silence.

"What…happened?" Elsa tried to find her voice as she felt a red flag go up at the back of her mind.

"You know, when Mr. Igor's bakery blew up. Kristoff came to cover the news for ANT5, and then he ran into this person called the Snow Queen," Anna said, trying not too divulge too much of Kristoff's secret. "I wasn't interested about his story at first, but after seeing her in action, just…wow." A dreamy look spread over Anna's face, "I'd like to meet her just once! And imagine, a heroine right here in boring old Arendelle!"

"Arendelle isn't boring," Elsa protested. "Anyway, how…much have you seen about this Snow Queen person?"

"Long enough to know she's so strong and so _cool_. No pun intended," Anna quickly added when Elsa made a face. Both sisters turned back to the television. "I wonder who she is? Is she from Arendelle, too? How did she get her ice powers? Did she fall into radioactive goop or something?" Anna quietly sighed that there was presently more questions than answers.

"Hm." Elsa's eyes narrowed as she re-watched several scenes that the news crew captured of her earlier heroism, "She doesn't seem that great," Elsa cringed as the news cameras caught her ungracefully stub a toe, "maybe she's dangerous and you should leave her alone. Maybe she doesn't have full control over her powers. And you never know what these hero types do to get attention."

"Nah," Anna replied, getting to her feet once more and stretching, "she doesn't seem like that type of person. Maybe you're just being paranoid again."

"You never know," Elsa repeated.

Anna simply grinned and kissed Elsa's cheek. "I think I'll turn in for the night. Good night, Elsa."

"Goodnight, Anna."

As the younger girl exited the room, Elsa turned back to the television where the anchors were now excitedly discussing her earlier antics as the Snow Queen and trying to figure out her identity. _I have to be more careful,_ she resolved, _a news crew tailing me is not good news._

* * *

Despite turning in early the previous evening, Anna woke to a blast of sunlight on her face. "Mmngh…what time is it?" she rolled over and squinted at her room's wall clock. "DRAT! 7:45? I'm going to be late!" Anna quickly scanned her phone wondering why the alarm didn't go off. As she did so, she received a message from Rapunzel.

"_Hey! Where are you? You didn't forget today's the first day of our midterm exams, did you? Don't be absent!"_

Anna's eyes widened as she realized the situation. She jumped from her bed and quickly brushed her teeth and threw on whatever clothes were lying around the floor. Running by the kitchens, she grabbed a slice of bread and dashed down the hallway. As she neared the doors, Anna spotted a familiar figure, she called out, "Hey, Gerda! Is my sister still here?"

"No, miss," Gerda replied, "she left earlier to head to the office and take care of some business. I'm on the way there, myself. Would you like me to accompany you to the school?"

"It's alright, thanks!" Anna replied as she dashed out the door, "Traffic's awful at this hour. I know a shortcut."

* * *

A few minutes into her walk, Anna almost regretted turning down Gerda's offer. While the sun was out, winter's chill nipped at her exposed face. In her rush, she'd neglected to wear a scarf and gloves. To make matters worse, she had to read her notes as she went. So involved was the strawberry blonde with her notes that she failed to see a rapidly approaching individual rounding the corner; who was equally unaware of their surroundings.

Anna's notes flew as she and the individual collided, and the young girl was sent flat on her bottom in the snow. The stranger was the first to regain their composure.

"My apologies," they said, offering a gloved hand.

Anna shook her head trying to focus on the blue and yellow figure in front of her. Upon her realization of their identity, she tried to say something, the words would not come. "Y-you're…" she tried, pointing a shaking finger at the stranger.

"Yes, I know. I'm stranger, but I promise, I mean you no harm." Soft, dulcet tones rang out from their lips. "Now, let's help you up."

With a firm grip and yank, Anna was soon back on her feet. The stranger summoned a mild breeze to quickly collect the scattered notes. When the documents were neatly deposited in the stranger's hand, they turned to Anna.

"And I believe," the individual stated, as they handed back the papers, "these are yours."

Anna took back her notes, finally finding her voice. "You're the Snow Queen!"

"And you're late," the Snow Queen replied dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. "As glad as I am to see that you're alright, I _believe_ that you should be at school by now, little miss. If I deduce correctly, those are your notes for an exam."

"No, it's alright," Anna grinned, still trying to come to terms that she was talking to the Snow Queen in the flesh. "I can take a make-up exam. Heck, I'll even ditch school so I can watch you fight crime today! Can I do that, Miss Snow Queen ma'am?! I won't get in the way, I promise!"

"Arendelle High has a strict late policy," the Snow Queen said sternly, "Academia is important, and you shouldn't throw away your future on a flight of fancy…"

"How did you even know I was going to Arendelle High?" Anna asked suspiciously, "Have we met before and you used some amnesia spell to make me forget?"

The Snow Queen slapped a hand over her mouth before inadvertently gave away her identity. She inwardly sighed at the realization that she almost blew her cover to the young girl. Regaining her composure, the Snow Queen replied, "No. We haven't met, and you cannot spend time with me. Now if you'll excuse me, my job here is finished."As she turned to walk away, she heard a pleading voice.

"Can I pleeeeease see you again? I want to ask you some questions and stuff."

"No. And that's final. You needn't involve yourself with lawbreakers like me."

"Come on. I'll keep stalling and miss my test and throw away my future if you keep saying no."

"You're hopeless," the Snow Queen responded, frowning as she turned to Anna. "Fine. But just once. And I decide when."

"Alright!" Anna said excitedly, "So how will I find you?"

The Snow Queen shook head. "No, _I _will be the one to find _you_."

As she watched the younger girl excitedly skip away (hopefully) towards school, Elsa finally allowed herself to smile. _The Snow Queen, huh? _she mused, _look_s _like I found my alias. _

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Sorry for the hiccup in updates! Something unexpected work came up and I had to deal with it. I know this is a highly anticipated chapter and I apologize! If all goes well, frequent updates will continue as planned. Unfortunately…I haven't been able to finish several sketches I planned to release with this chapter, but an update without those sketches is better than no update at all, right? :D I'll hopefully release it in the next update. _

_Thank you once again for the surge of reviews! I find it funny that most readers (looking at you, __**Rubicksmaster**__! :D) commented on the fact that Sven is gainfully employed. ANT5 figured they'll cut costs by hiring Sven: they pay him in carrots, and that's cheaper than paying in cash! _

_Thank you __**BlueAsh666**__! I appreciate the love!_

_Thanks also to __**Scholar of Justice, TheElementHero, Guest 1, syuchang, battousai24, Frizzybob, Spikesaggita, **__and __**caesaraugusta **__for your kind words! w__**aterxeno, **__thanks for your frequent reviews on the current and previous chapters! I appreciate it! _

_**Chaosglory626 and Guest 2, **__thank you for the advice! I'll keep them in mind to make this a better story :) _

_And to all my readers and everyone else who dropped a favorite and/or a follow, I won't get tired of saying YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. Here's to the next episode._

_~MidnightStriker_


	8. Episode 07: A Little Midnight Rendezvous

**Episode 07: A Little Midnight Rendezvous**

Unexpectedly meeting Anna after a quick routine patrol effectively made Elsa late as well. While she took a more active role in vigilante activities lately, her position as Arendelle Ice Co.'s CEO was still more important than as Arendelle's silent protector.

Elsa made use of ice slides to travel towards the company building and utilized vacant back streets as not to draw any further attention. She tried to ignore the burning and fatigue in her muscles, but she was already running late to her morning meeting and could not afford running into any more civilians. Given her seemingly overnight popularity, it would be difficult not to recognize her. As she pondered on her latest predicament, the blonde prayed that her fifteen minutes of fame was almost over.

_I should definitely buy one of those police radios, _Elsa thought as she sped along, _I can plan my route in advance to avoid that nosy ANT5 news and my equally nosy sister. _

Though the latter was done in mild jest, Elsa realized the complications of her current situation. While avoiding the news crew was a definite must; avoiding Anna, on the other hand, presented another issue in an already complicated situation. To Elsa's dismay, Anna didn't exhibit any signs of fear upon meeting her as the Snow Queen; rather, it was the opposite: a profound excitement, nay, _admiration_ was obvious in the young girl's features.

There was something else that nagged Elsa about Anna's admiration, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. Shelving her thoughts in the meantime, she saw Arendelle Ice Co.'s rapidly nearing form and refocused her mind to business mode. The young CEO cautiously approached the building, discreetly slipped through her office window, and quickly changed her appearance to that of her normal, civilian self.

Taking one final look at herself in the mirror, Elsa nodded contentedly and exited her office the normal way, as opposed to her entrance. She quietly entered the conference room, where Kai was in the middle of his report on the company's current stocks. Thankful for the dim lighting, Elsa slipped into her chair where Gerda was waiting with Elsa's copy of day's agenda and a warm beverage. Nodding quietly in thanks as she accepted the items, Elsa tried her best to follow the figures and numbers.

While on most days she quickly grasped these topics, "The Business" was the furthest thing on her mind at that moment.

* * *

Anna threw herself into her bed as soon as she got home, hugging a pillow tightly and pressing it against her face to muffle her excited screams.

Like a certain blonde, figures and numbers were the last things on Anna's mind that day. It didn't help that during her physics exam, states of water, ice freezing temperatures and all that wonderful ice-related topics decided to make an appearance.

Anna was so excited about meeting the Snow Queen in person and the promise to meet with her. Besides, the vigilante did not seem like one to break promises. She was absolutely bursting at the seams to tell someone of her meeting with her new idol, but didn't know anyone who showed as much fangirling towards the Snow Queen as she did at the moment.

Removing the pillow, the girl rolled over to her back and stared at the ceiling. Who could she share her excitement with? Elsa was still at the office, Rapunzel was out with her parents, and the servants were busy— so that left one person. Anna reached for her phone and decided to call her "last resort."

Scrolling through her contacts, Anna searched for Kristoff's name and punched the "Call" option. It took a few rings before she heard Kristoff's familiar voice. "_Hey Anna! What's up_?"

"Hey Kristoff! You busy?" Anna fought to keep the eagerness out of her voice lest the man got the wrong idea.

"_Nah, it's my day off. Anything happened? You sound excited_."

"You won't believe what happened today," Anna shifted her gaze at the light snow that began to lightly dust the city. She smiled as she remembered a certain _someone. _

A snort came on the other end of the line. "_Try me."_

"Well," Anna began coyly, pausing just enough to build up Kritoff's curiosity_, _"I met a certain person."

"_That's nice. Do I know him? Or at least…does Sven know him? He's gotten more popular at the station than I am, and—"_

Kristoff paused when he heard Anna loudly clear her throat at the other end of the line. "_Ahem. Sorry. You were saying? You met someone?"_

"I think you may have heard of them," Anna continued. "And I think it's related to a certain story you're chasing."

The tension building on the other end felt so thick through the phone line that Anna could almost feel it. Clearing her throat once more, Anna went on. "Hey Kristoff, are you sitting down right now or are you standing? 'Cause I think you need to sit down to hear this."

"_Out with it, Anna! The curiosity is doing me in!"_

"I met her, Kristoff. I met the Snow Queen."

A huge pause filled the air. Anna heard a soft _thump_ as Kristoff dropped himself onto a chair. "_Wow, just, wow," _the reporter's hand ruffling his hair was audible as he struggled to wrap his head around the news. Almost immediately, he turned to reporter mode.

"_How did you meet her? Did you figure out her identity? Her name? What's her favorite color? Why'd she turn vigilante? Does she live here in Arendelle? What's her favorite flower?" _

Anna frowned at the last query, realizing that she may have competition in vying for her idol's attention. Skipping over the first few questions, Anna cut straight to the chase. "I don't really know yet, but I think I can help you out with your story. The Snow Queen promised to meet me sometime soon!"

"_Whoa! Score! Let me know and I'll put up a surveillance camera and some wires on you, and…"_

"Calm down, Kristoff! You make it sound like she's a criminal or something." Anna rolled her eyes. "Besides, I don't think you should be there initially. I think that I should earn her trust and pass whatever information I receive to you. We don't want to scare her away." Even though Anna knew it was childish, she didn't want to "share" her idol with Kristoff. However, pouring out her thoughts to the reporter seemed better than keeping it bottled in; and besides, she could help him out.

As she thought about the possibilities, Anna heard Kristoff sigh audibly on the other end, obviously disappointed that he couldn't meet the beautiful vigilante. "_Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, some news is better than no news, right? Just be sure that you be careful. Call me if she starts doing anything funny."_

Anna bobbed her head in affirmation even though she knew Kristoff couldn't see it. "Thanks, Kristoff! And you'll be the first person to have this inside info as soon as I get it."

"_Thanks, feisty pants. You take care now!"_

"Good night, Kristoff." _Click. _

* * *

Almost a week went by since that fateful day and the phone call. Anna was jittery most of the time, often checking her phone, glancing at the windows, and looking over her shoulder just in case. Every doorbell, knock, or phone call had Anna's immediate attention and apparent disappointment when it was not the call she expected. The girl's skittishness did not go unnoticed by the staff, but there was only one person in the entire manse that had the courage to call her out on her unusual behavior.

"Are you expecting somebody?" Elsa asked one afternoon when she found her sibling seemingly attached to the window all day. Anna was perched on the living room window when Elsa left for work that morning, so Elsa'a concern was understandable when she returned to find Anna in that same state.

Winter break had just begun, and Elsa knew an energetic person like Anna is not prone to sitting still in one place for a long time.

"Naw," Anna yawned, getting up to stretch, "I mean, not really."

"Come now, Anna. You're not usually like this." Elsa gently coaxed.

"It's nothing really." Anna repeated as she forced a smile in an effort ease Elsa's concerns, "I'm going to my room. See ya later, Els."

As Anna slipped by the CEO, Elsa noticed something slip from the blanket Anna used to wrap herself in. Picking it up, she saw a doodle of the Snow Queen and Anna, with excitedly penned words, "_I'm meeting the Snow Queen!_" and in smaller letters, "_And I hope it's soon…"_

Elsa sighed. A part of her hoped that Anna forgot their chance encounter, and while she silently shadowed Anna every morning for the past week to ensure that the girl didn't play hooky to search for the Snow Queen, a bigger part of her knew that Anna wouldn't forget something she was really excited about. Folding the paper and slipping it in the pocket of her business suit, she knew what she had to do. She just hoped that she wouldn't regret it.

* * *

_Tap, tap, tap. _

Anna rolled over, pulling a pillow over her head to ignore the sound.

_Tap, tap, tap._

She was trying to sleep, for goodness' sake! And who would keep pelting her window with little ice pellets in the middle of the night?

Anna strode to the window and gave a nasty glare. Seeing no one, she scanned the courtyard for the late night offender to give them a piece of her mind. Still not seeing a soul in the calm night, she clambered down her window to apprehend the culprit herself. As Anna made her descent, a sudden movement caught her eye and caused her to turn around.

The Snow Queen stepped out from behind a tree, a modest smile on her face. That changed; however, as she saw the precarious actions Anna was taking to reach the ground. Quickly conjuring a set of icy steps, the Snow Queen reached Anna and gently—yet firmly—took her hand.

"Don't you know that your bedroom is at least three stories off the ground?!" the Snow Queen chided the girl.

Anna's perplexed look turned into one of glee when she was once more face-to-face with her heroine.

"You're here! You're finally here! I thought you forgot your promise," Anna exclaimed, trying not to burst from excitement.

The Snow Queen raised a finger to her lips. _Shhhh._

Anna nodded energetically in understanding, and she carefully made her way down the steps. It seemed as if the Snow Queen had a natural overprotective tendency, for the vigilante never let go of Anna's wrist as they descended the frozen staircase.

"I apologize," the masked vigilante responded in quiet tones, taking Anna's hand as the pair began her descent, "I must have lost track of time; I often patrol the city during evenings to ensure the safety of its residents."

When they finally reached to bottom of the steps, Anna leaned over and whispered, "I don't think it's very becoming of the Snow Queen to lose her _cool_."

The Snow Queen blushed slightly and made a face akin to Elsa's when the blonde heard lame puns from the girl. Anna giggled at the similarity, but thought no more of it.

Tugging the Snow Queen's hand, Anna led her towards the mansion's hedge maze. Noting the confused look on the older girl's face, Anna explained, "See, there's this secret path among the hedges that I only know about; it's pretty out-of-sight so you won't have to worry about the servants seeing us."

"That gives me some assurance."

"Yeah! We can do stuff without anyone knowing any better."

"Do…stuff? Do explain." The Snow Queen said, confusion and alarm apparent in her voice.

"Like talk all night, silly! Or have a midnight snack! You must be hungry from all the crime-fighting you've been doing all day." Anna grinned, parting a certain hedge and motioning her companion to go through.

The Snow Queen complied, mentally reprimanding herself for thinking untoward, impure thoughts at the young girl's innocent words.

When the pair settled themselves comfortably in the grass of surprisingly spacious…space, the Snow Queen turned to Anna and asked, "Well? You wanted to ask questions. So begin. My time is precious and must not be wasted on idle talk such as these. And you should be in bed by now. Have you eaten dinner at all?"

Although she sought answers for the previous queries, the Snow Queen knew the answer to the final question—which was a "no." While not innately churlish, the Snow Queen hoped to end her time with Anna early so that the younger girl could sneak to the kitchens and have at least some bread and cheese to eat before the kitchen staff left for the night.

Anna's giggles came once more; seemingly having the giddiness of a schoolgirl finally being noticed by the object of her affection.

"I'm sorry," Anna apologized, seeing the Snow Queen's confused look at her inappropriately timed giggles.

"It's just that you remind me so much of someone," the young girl continued, tracing lazy patterns on her spring green nightgown, "and I bet if you two have met, you would've made great friends."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **__Whew. This turned out longer than I expected! Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed! (I won't make this too long, let the story do the talking haha!)_

_Shout out to faithful reviewers__**Spikesagitta, syuchang, Scholar of Justice, battousai24 **__and __**Rubicksmaster**__!  
Also to __**LegilimensExpert **__and __**TheElementHero**__: thanks for your kind words. It makes me happy to hear those who are enjoying this story so far and have time to drop a review! :)_

_Also to all the new followers since the last Episode! Welcome aboard! Let's see where the next episode goes…_

_~MidnightStriker_


	9. Episode 08: Conversation is the Key

**Episode 08: Conversation is the Key **

After Anna's initial excitement died down, she realized something. "Wait," she began, eyeing her midnight companion, "how do you know where I live? You told me we haven't met before."

The Snow Queen visibly stiffened, obviously not expecting this particular question. _How does one overlook such a petty detail? _she groaned inwardly_. _Drawing a deep breath, the blonde vigilante turned to Anna.

"I'm Arendelle's protector, remember? I know where everyone lives." The Snow Queen flashed a winning smile hoping to set the younger girl at ease; hoping that it would mask how unsure she was feeling right now and that Anna wouldn't call her bluff.

"Oh! That's so cool," Anna smiled. "So, do you know everyone in Arendelle? Because I don't think we've formally introduced ourselves yet."

_How can she be so unafraid? _"Simply because I know where people live does not mean that I know every aspect of their person. And yes, we haven't had any formal introductions since our initial encounter."

Anna grinned, remembering their brief meeting. "Right. Well, I'm Anna!"

"You know me as the Snow Queen." Her companion replied.

"Yeah, everyone's talking about you lately."

"Do they now?" the Snow Queen arched a brow; not that Anna could tell as her eyes were covered by her mask. "I don't care much for town gossip."

"It's not gossip, really," Anna clarified, "I just think you're the next big thing in Arendelle."

The Snow Queen didn't respond, opting instead to lean against the stone wall. This made Anna uneasy and unsure how to carry on this conversation. Granted, she was glad that the vigilante took this silence as a signal to leave; she wanted to make the most out of this meeting. Suddenly, she remembered a good ice breaker. "Miss…Snow Queen? May I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

A half-hour later, the Snow Queen regretted her answer. "A" question turned into "some" questions. The perky girl didn't seem to have any intention of stopping her barrage of inquiries, and to the ice maiden, some even felt like it was coming at the speed of light.

"What's your real name? How did you become the Snow Queen? Do you live in Arendelle? What's your favorite food? How did you get your ice powers?"

Naturally cautious around the younger girl, the Snow Queen easily put two-and-two together, realizing that Anna was asking questions to possibly pass along to her school friends, or worse, the local (or social!) media.

When Anna's queries finally slowed down, the Snow Queen finally was able to get a word in edgewise. "What's with all the questions?" she asked. The blonde gave Anna a wary eye as she saw the other girl's pencil poised over a notepad, ready to record any and all answers. It felt like an interrogation.

"Do you work for the police?" the ice maiden jokingly asked.

"What? No, no, no! I'm helping a…friend." Anna replied, lowering the notepad and pencil, but not getting rid of them altogether. The Snow Queen gave a small, pleased smile when she saw that she was getting through the girl.

_Bull's-eye._

"Is he part of the police?" the Snow Queen continued, "because if he is, then I'm afraid that we cannot be seeing each other anymore."

"NO!" Anna said, her reply coming out louder than she intended. Regaining her composure, she lowered her voice and went on. "I mean, no. Kristoff's not part of the police or anything like that. He's just a reporter for the local news. Look, if this is making you uncomfortable, I'll put these away." True to her word, Anna put down the notepad and pencil and folded her hands on her lap.

"Thank you."

"Not a problem." Anna replied.

The vigilante was now more visibly relaxed, so she moved closer to Anna and lay on the soft grass. As she did so, she carefully spread her glittered cape as not to crease it. The tiny crystals embedded in it caught the moon's glow, giving the illusion of millions tiny stars. The Snow Queen folded her hands behind her head, and Anna quickly followed suit.

"So who is this person you say I remind you of?" the Snow Queen continued.

"My sister. My older sister."

"Oh?" the Snow Queen turned over so that she was facing Anna, "tell me about this sister of yours." While the Snow Queen knew this "sister" all too well, it was interesting to hear the unfiltered truth from Anna in this persona.

"Her name's Elsa. She's, well, how do I put this…she's really pretty. And perfect. Like she doesn't do anything wrong," Anna started, "That's the way I've always seen her, even when we were little."

"No one's perfect all the time. I'm sure she just hides her mistakes better than others." The Snow Queen dryly replied, "I think you have a sister complex."

"What? NO!" Anna laughed, giving her companion a playful punch, "I just really admire her, that's all. I want to be elegant and poised and—"

"It's a lot of work, trust me." the Snow Queen snorted as she returned to previous position, "besides, the world would be pretty boring if everyone was the same. We don't need a world where every woman was poised regal and uptight. I would suffocate in their company."

Anna laughed, the sound bringing a smile to the Snow Queen's lips.

"Thanks," the strawberry blonde replied gratefully, "that made me feel better. Like, a whole lot better. You know, Elsa wasn't so uptight and suffocating before."

_That's true, _the Snow Queen thought ruefully.

"She was actually more fun; I think. She left when I was so young; I barely remember how she was like before she left. When she came back, well, it was like the weight of the world was on her shoulders and she just doesn't have time to unwind." Anna paused thoughtfully.

"You don't understand what your sister's going through," the Snow Queen answered, sitting up, "why don't you tell her what you're telling me now? Get some dialogue going. Open the channels of communication, and such."

"I wish," Anna replied, "but whenever I bring up topics like this, she lashes out at me and tells me she's doing what has to be done. I know how important her job is, but it's hard to get through to her when she's angry."

The Snow Queen looked at Anna. "Why are you telling me all of this in the first place?"

"Because you're the one who only actually _listens_ to me," Anna replied, "and that really helps. A lot."

As the Snow Queen opened her mouth to reply, the town clock chimed in the distance, signaling it to be one o' clock in the morning. Changing her mind, the Snow Queen once more offered her hand to the girl. "It's getting late, little miss Anna," she said as she pulled Anna to her feet. "I think it is way past your bedtime."

"I'm not a little kid anymore," Anna giggled. When she was set on her feet, she nodded at the Snow Queen. "Thanks. It looks like this is our parting gesture."

"Don't count on it," the Snow Queen scoffed, "my exits must exhibit the same level of grace as my entrance."

Pointing towards the manse, the Snow Queen turned to Anna. "Go on. Off to bed with you."

"Awwww. I don't wanna," Anna made a small sign of protest.

"But you have to. Besides, I'm not awake all hours of the day, you know."

"Oh, alright," Anna gave a small pout as she parted the hedge and slipped through, holding it open for her companion. As the pair walked back to the mansion, Anna turned to the taller girl.

"Before you send me off to bed, I have one more question."

Something flickered across the Snow Queen's eyes. Whether it was surprise or annoyance, Anna couldn't tell. She knew she was pushing her luck, but at that moment, she didn't care about the consequences that may follow afterward.

Turning to Anna, the Snow Queen answered, "As long as it's not where I live."

Anna giggled. "I promise it isn't."

"What do you fight for?"

That question made the Snow Queen hesitate. What would she tell Anna? That she fought, because it was her way of release? Because she finally found some sort of justification of her powers? Because using her ice powers for good was her way of proving she wasn't a monster?

"Is this some sort of information you wish to pass to that friend of yours?" the vigilante asked.

"No, I promise. I'm just curious, really."

"…then I will tell you the next time we meet."

"There's a next time?" Anna said excitedly, barely containing her excitement.

The Snow Queen kicked herself mentally. While trying to sound epic, she managed to dig herself into another hole when it came to Anna. But looking at the girl's eager eyes, she knew she was as good as defeated when it came to the strawberry blonde's pleas.

"Yes," she managed a small smile, "I suppose there will be."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__This chapter ended up being harder to write than I anticipated! Anyways, this chapter is a bit short but onto the next one! _

_Welcome aboard to Snowflake Vigilante's new followers! I'm amazed to see we're over 200 followers and almost 100 favorites. You guys are awesome! It's nice to see this taking off. Big "Thank You's" to reviewers, constant or otherwise: _**TheElementHero**, **Scholar of Justice, elsanna **[guest]** Spikesagitta, syuchang, battousai24, 17pandas, waterxeno, blind-saint, **_and __**thekiksrocks **_[guest]**!**

_**Scholar of Justice:**__Thanks for your encouraging words! I hope it doesn't disappoint!_

_**pandypaws: **__Awww! That's so sweet :) I promise there will be more squeal-able moments in the future! ^_^_

_**battousai24: **__Thank you! That makes me happy! Sorry about the text, but basically it reads: "The reason that brought them together will be the force that drives them apart." Kristelsa? I wouldn't do that to you :)) _

_**17pandas: **__When I read your review, it really made me light up! That's really sweet ^_^ I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!_

_**syuchang & waterxeno: **__I like you guys! You observe details ;) Anyway, you'll find out the answers (and more!) in the succeeding episodes! _

_Onwards to the next episode,  
~MidnightStriker_


	10. Episode 09: Back to the Action

**Episode 09: Back to the Action **

Anna didn't even remember how she ended back in bed. Before she knew it, night was over and gave way to the sunlight that was warming her through the window. As she made her way down to breakfast, Anna smiled as she remembered the previous night's encounter.

"Good morning, Kai," she cheerfully greeted the older man.

"Good morning to you, Miss Anna!" Kai responded as he looked up from several business files he was reviewing. "You look happy this morning."

The man was eagerly awaiting her reply, seemingly thankful for a break from the paperwork in his hands. "Yeah, well," Anna gave a content grin, but she didn't wish to share anything with Kai at the moment. Instead, she changed the topic. "Is my sister awake?"

Although somewhat deflated at Anna's nondisclosure, Kai still kept his usual sunny demeanor. "That's the strangest thing," he replied, "Miss Elsa is usually awake at this hour. I've asked Gerda to see if she's alright."

Anna was about to leave the table to check on Elsa herself when her phone buzzed. This caused her to hesitate, and as she checked the screen, it was from Kristoff.

Sighing, she figured Elsa would have to wait. She pressed the "Answer" button and lifted the phone to her ear.

"Hey there, Kristoff."

"_Hi, Anna_!" came the reply on the other end, "_so, I know it's a little bit early, but since it's still the break and all—do you think we can meet up for cake? Or coffee? Anything like that. My treat."_

Anna sighed, "This is about the Snow Queen, isn't it?"

"_Yeah. Sorry for coming on a bit too strong, but my boss has been on my case for the past week. Every time we think we got her, she always makes a quick escape! Were you able to meet her at all?"_

"Yes, I did," Anna replied. She was about to get more into the details, but then she saw Elsa enter the dining hall, with Gerda following close behind. "I'll tell you about it when we meet up. Around 11 o'clock sound good to you?"

"_Works for me. Thanks, Anna." _

Disconnecting the line, Anna returned to her pancakes. She snuck a look at the older girl, noting dark circles were decorating her otherwise pale skin. "Good morning, Elsa! Are you alright?" she greeted.

Elsa turned to Anna, looking somewhat sleep deprived. "Good morning to you too, Anna. I'll be alright with some coffee," she answered as she poured herself a large cup said beverage, "I just went to bed later than usual, that's all."

"Me too!" Anna chirped, earning a look from Elsa.

"I mean, I don't know why, but I suddenly couldn't sleep at all last night so…" the younger girl explained. Elsa looked like she was about to give Anna a lecture on her sleeping habits, but Gerda broke in. "Miss, I'm sorry to interrupt, but if we don't leave now, we'll be late to the office."

Elsa drained the last of her coffee before responding. "Alright then." She stood up and went over to Anna, "Well then, I'll see you this afternoon." Anna made a face of mock annoyance as Elsa ruffled her hair.

"Don't push yourself too hard, sis." Anna called from the table.

Elsa turned and gave her a tired smile. "I'll try." With that, she followed her two assistants out the mansion doors.

* * *

Although Anna arrived well before 11, she was surprised to see Kristoff was already at the Smokin' Oaken. He looked somewhat anxious, checking his watch every so often and looking to and fro for Anna. When he finally saw her, he waved her over.

"Hey Anna!" he said, standing up and giving her a hug when she drew near. "Hey yourself, Kristoff," Anna replied as she returned the hug, "Are you running late for work or something? You look stressed."

"Work has been slow, actually," he chuckled, "Like I've been telling you, my boss has been on my case because we haven't really progressed anywhere with this 'Snow Queen' story. It's one of the trending stories in the station, but there's been little to no information so far. And that's where you come in."

Kristoff called a waiter over to place their orders. Afterwards, he turned to Anna eagerly, "So I remembered that you told me she'll meet with you, right?"

"Yeah," Anna nodded, "we actually met last night."

The excitement in Kristoff's eyes was evident. "Were you able to win her over?"

"I think so," Anna replied, taking her hot chocolate from the waiter and stirring it thoughtfully, "she was nicer than I expected."

"That's good, that's good," the reporter nodded, "Did she give you information like where she's going to strike next? Or at least a backstory? Because if we at least have her backstory, that should satisfy the public inquiry for the time being."

"Er…" the strawberry blonde hesitated, "Actually…Ididn'treallygetanythingoutfromher."

"What was that?" Kristoff asked, leaning forward as he strained to hear Anna's response.

"I kind of didn't really get anything like that," Anna mumbled, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. Looking back, Anna wondered how the Snow Queen managed to turn the tables on her and be the one asking questions. Anna was both amazed an a tad unsettled by this revelation.

Kristoff blew out a disappointed sigh. "So, what did you get? I mean, you guys didn't just stare at each other the whole time you met, did you?"

"Not exactly," Anna confessed, "we—I mean, I—just talked about sisters and things like that."

The blond perked up at that little tidbit. "Does the Snow Queen have a sister?" "She didn't say," Anna replied, "It was mostly me who ended up unloading some emotional baggage on her." This reply caused the reporter to slump back in his seat. "Oh. Well. Let's just…try again next time."

"Yeah," Anna nodded, "Sorry, Kristoff. If I get to make her agree to meet up again, I'll try to get something out of her."

While Anna felt awful letting Kristoff down, but the Snow Queen was not just strong—she was showing signs to be smart as hell, too. Although that should have frightened her, she found that aspect of the blonde to be strangely intriguing.

* * *

Meanwhile, Elsa was going over monthly reports of the company. Kai and Gerda were doing a brilliant job; this month's profits were more than ever. More importantly, Elsa found this arrangement to be more efficient for her; giving her more time to go about her second life.

As she signed off another document, her radio crackled to life. Quickly lowering the volume, Elsa drew closer to listen to the report.

"_An ongoing robbery is going on at the Arendelle National Bank. So far there have been no casualties, but the robbers are holding the banks' occupants hostage. We'll bring you more news on this development." _

_Sounds like a job for the Snow Queen, _Elsa noted as she turned off the radio. She pressed a call button on her desk, and said, "Gerda, I'll be talking a half day today. Please reschedule any appointments for Friday."

"_Understood, Miss Elsa," _came Gerda's response, "_Enjoy the rest of your day." _

* * *

The Snow Queen assessed the situation as she quietly arrived on the scene. There was a police blockade, the usual yellow tape, and several curious bystanders. The blonde vigilante frowned as she saw several police officers huddled behind their cars. Their negotiator was speaking through his megaphone to a small man standing at the bank's entrance; this man was holding an ordinary pistol in one hand.

_Is the police scared of that one man? Or are they scared of his accomplices?_ The Snow Queen thought as she observed the criminal. Overall, he looked unkempt. He was dressed in somewhat shaggy clothes and had beginnings of stubble lining his jaw. The robber looked bored as the police negotiator continued asking him questions.

_Must be a low-level thug, _the Snow Queen thought, _I'll go through this job easily._

As the exchange was going on, the Snow Queen noiselessly entered the bank through a vent. She quietly dropped down into the bank manager's office, scouting for people. Seeing none, the vigilante slipped through the rooms looking for any signs of the robber's accomplices or any hostages.

When she arrived at the main area, she saw three equally unkempt men guarding the hostages. The Snow Queen smirked. _Let's do this._

After subtly casting a thin sheet of ice on the floor, the Snow Queen made a snowball and hurled it at the first man. "Ei! Why'd you hit me?" the man turned to his companion. "I didn't hit you!" his companion protested. "There must be someone else in here," the third man said, looking around warily. "And where did this snow come from?"

At that moment, the vigilante decided to make an appearance.

"Looking for me?" the Snow Queen grinned, stepping out of her hiding place. As she predicted, the men charged at her, but they didn't notice the suddenly icy floor. "It's…it's her! The Snow Queen!" the first thug yelled.

"She's real!" the second man joined in. "Let's make a run for it!" As the men slipped and slid on the floor, trying to regain their footing, the Snow Queen bound them in chains and hurled them towards the entrance. The thug at the entrance was suddenly barreled down the steps, and the police quickly surrounded the perpetrators. Once the Snow Queen saw that the local authorities had them in their custody, so she turned towards the victims and began freeing them from their bonds.

Oddly, they looked more nervous than relieved. As the ice maiden removed the tape covering one man's mouth, she asked, "Is there a problem, sir?" He looked at her with wide, nervous eyes as he stammered, "Th-that's not all of them, miss."

The Snow Queen frowned. "What do you mean? I checked everywhere, including the vault. There's no one else here."

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot came from behind her. Turning around, the Snow Queen was greeted with six men, noticeably more high-class in their business suits than the robbers she apprehended earlier. When the leader caught her eye, he gave a sardonic, triumphant grin.

"I suppose you missed the security room."

* * *

_**Author's notes: **__Ah, back to the action! I admit that I kind of missed seeing the Snow Queen kick some bad-guy butt. Anyway, not much to say except that I wonder how will did she take on this new development? Has the Snow Queen grown *slightly* overconfident? Missed the security room? How ironic. _

'_Til the next episode!_

_~MidnightStriker _


	11. Episode 10: Too Much, Too Little

**Episode 10: Too Much, Too Little **

The Snow Queen eyed the newcomers, trying to keep her nerves under control. She hated unexpected developments as the CEO of her company, and she hated them even more if they decided a life-or-death situation. To make things worse, this time her life was not the only one on the line: she had the other captives to consider.

Granted, as her shot to fame rose, less and less criminal activity happened around Arendelle, and petty criminals did not want to risk facing the Snow Queen's wrath. Complacency had taken over, and that was what the Snow Queen was regretting now: her miscalculation leading to not just to a possibility of her demise, but to other innocent civilians as well.

Trying to mask her nervousness, the vigilante slowly took a defensive pose as she asked, "Who are you?"

A smile formed on the front man's lips, showing off his glimmering teeth. He was definitely a class above the petty goons she knocked out earlier. The Snow Queen frowned as the realization dawned on her that these high-end gangsters may have used the hostage situation as bait to get her to make an appearance. They obviously didn't need more money than they already have— or stolen.

"My dear Snow Queen, I expected that you would have heard of a company as famous as we are," The suave man answered, "I declare, it _does_ hurt my pride that you have to ask my name."

As the Snow Queen could reply, the man continued on. "My name is Andreas. My companions, as you can see, are my elite henchmen: Marius, Sigurd, Petter, Gunnar, and Jan.

"You have the option to surrender now and leave with your life, or you can attempt to fight us," Andreas went on, "I don't mind either way, for we are the ones who will finally melt you."

"Surrender? Of course not," the vigilante scoffed, "you don't know me too well as you'd assume. You know I never surrender; especially when innocents are harmed by monsters like you."

"Take them," Andreas replied nonchalantly, waving his hand at the wrist showing his flippancy, "I care not. I just want to help myself to what this bank has to add to my personal collection."

The Snow Queen's hands began to glow as she noticed Andreas' henchmen form a circle around her. "Your arrogance shall be your downfall, sir," she said, "because if there's one thing you should know, it's to never think that for one moment, you have the advantage over your enemy."

"Well then," Andreas grinned, "may I have this dance, my queen?" He clapped his hands daintily, stepping back as his henchmen charged towards the Snow Queen. She quickly sidestepped them, and seeing them all collected in one area, shot them with a surge of ice.

As the mist cleared, the Snow Queen squinted to make sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. The five mooks stood up and brushed off bits off snow from their suits, appearing relatively unscathed.

"What?" the Snow Queen frowned, "…how?"

"The answer is relatively simple," answered Andreas, flashing his now customary smile, "if you were to think it through. Frankly, my dear, you haven't been doing that much as of late."

The heroine's frown deepened beneath her mask at the man's condescending tone, but continued to listen. "Did you really think we would come unprepared to meet you? Did you not ask _why_ we had no coats or any winter gear?

"Frankly, I believe that it is not my justifiable arrogance that would lead to my downfall. It is your overblown ego and your thickheadedness that will lead to your early grave. But I suppose we owe you an explanation. We have invested in frost resistant clothing, if you haven't noticed. I am not just handsome," Andreas smiled and ran a hand through his slick brown hair, "I'm rather intelligent, too."

He gave a slight nod and once more, his men charged towards the Snow Queen. Knowing that she had to use her brains as well as her powers, the Snow Queen tried a different approach.

She utilized her previous tactic of freezing the ground, using more inconsistent patches and consistency this time. Some patches of ice were thin enough to be slippery, but not thick enough to allow ice skating. Others were in clumps. The men obviously didn't expect this, and even with their skate-enabled soles, they had to be careful where they stepped.

Using this to her advantage, the Snow Queen rushed towards the Marius, who seemed to be paying more attention to gaining his balance rather than at her, and threw a right hook. He was taken by surprise, and promptly hit the ground.

The blonde then conjured an ice blade, cut off his suit sleeves, and bound both hands to a nearby column. Rubbing her fist, she scanned the area for the other goons.

Sigurd and Petter tried their best to quickly reach Marius to free him, armed with flamethrowers. As they struggled to set up the weapons, they slipped over the patchy ice. As the flamethrowers flew into the air, the Snow Queen froze both and had it suspended from the ceiling to prevent anyone from reaching them.

When Sigurd reached into his suit jacket for his gun, the Snow Queen slapped his wrist to deter him and kicked him as hard as she could in the shin. Howling in pain, he flailed wildly as he lost his balance once more and hit his partner. Both of them incapacitated, the Snow Queen made quick work in binding them as she did with Marius.

Gunnar and Jan were able to cover considerable distance while the Snow Queen was busy with the previous pair, making their way to be closer to her. Since the Snow Queen had no difficulty moving about, she tried to evade them and moved further away, looking for an opportune time to strike. Noting that Gunnar was a more heavyset man than his other companions, the Snow Queen figured that if she could stun him, it would be easier to take care of Jan, too.

Moving behind Gunnar, the Snow Queen threw another punch to stun him.

However, once her wrist connected with the behemoth, there was a sickening _crack_ and a dull pain quickly rippled across her right arm.

She gave a hissing noise of surprise and pain as she knelt, nursing her injured hand. "Looks like you're not much of a fighter, Queenie," Jan smiled over her, flamethrower in hands while Gunnar punched a fist against his palm. Jan nodded at his partner, "Take it home, Gunnar."

Gunnar raised his fist to strike, but the Snow Queen determined she wasn't going down without a fight. Using her good hand, she hurled ice shards at the pair. The men covered their faces to protect themselves, buying the vigilante some time to move away.

She quickly started to move to the other side of the room, but Andreas' voice behind her caused her to start. "I don't think so," he smiled, brandishing his gun, "I can tell you haven't done any form of martial arts or self-defense for once in your life. Your stance? Sloppy. Your punches? Weak."

He pointed his gun at her head. "I think this is your melting point, queen. If I deduced anything from this fight, you're just a regular woman who happened to have powers and grew to depend on them too much."

The Snow Queen's leg shot out in an attempt to knock the weapon out of his hands, but Jan quickly caught her ankle. "This is goodbye."

Before Andreas could activate the flamethrower, a loud _Bang_ sounded and the weapon fell to the floor. Yowling in pain, he turned around angrily and was face to face with the police force. Taking advantage of this development, the Snow Queen broke free from Jan's grip and elbowed Andreas in the stomach. He doubled over in pain, and the Snow Queen threw all her force behind her left elbow and struck Gunnar. He fell with a loud thud, cursing as he did so.

The police quickly moved in to apprehend the other mafia members, and the Snow Queen wearily paused to talk with the police chief Johan. Seeing her approach, he tipped his hat respectfully. "We can take it from here, ma'am."

"Thank you, Chief." She nodded, "How did you…?"

"We learned from one of the robbers that they were hired by the Arendelle mafia," Johan explained, "and one of the hostages was able to sneak out and give us the lowdown on what was happening inside.

What you did took guts, rushing headlong into that fight with them." He smiled, "I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner."

"You came just in time, in fact," the Snow Queen answered. "If you didn't show up when you did, I would have been…"She shuddered at the thought at what would've been.

"Thank you. And with that," he gestured towards the Snow Queen's right arm, which she was cradling close to her body, "do you need any medical assistance of some sort? We have a team outside waiting."

"That's unnecessary," the Snow Queen replied, gritting her teeth to ease the pain, "I'll be alright."

Johann nodded again. "Thank you, Snow Queen. You've been a big help in taking down this crime syndicate. I think Arendelle can rest more peacefully now, knowing that their local hero can take on the mafia solo."

"_Heroes_, chief." The Snow Queen corrected. "_Heroes _who took down the Arendelle Mafia_."_

As she turned towards the front exit, Johann called out, "You might want to leave the same way you came in. Both exits are swarming with media reporters, and we're keeping them at bay the best we can by forbidding access to the bank. But if you leave, I don't know what else we can do."

Nodding in thanks, the Snow Queen slowly walked away towards the vents. Despite the pain in her arm's increasing intensity, she had one thought as she made her way out: _I have to go see Li Shang_.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **_Hey again! Sorry for leaving you guys hanging for the past week. It's been tough adjusting to a new semester :]] Anyway, to be honest, action scenes aren't my strongest suit so I hope you'll forgive any mistakes you see here and there, and that's what made this chapter somewhat a doozy to write. I'd take mushy conversations any day (ha, ha!). _

_So! The Snow Queen has her limitations too. In my mind, this AU!Elsa's character doesn't really focus on learning self-defense or martial arts, thinking that her powers are sufficient for her to be a vigilante. Obviously you need hand-to-hand combat training too! C'mon, Elsa, haven't you read comics (or manga) as a kid?! Let's hope she learned something from this event. _

_Ahem. Anyway, big thanks to __**Saving-Arendelle, 7stolenknives, Lucy MK, syuchang,TheElementHero, Spikesaggita, blind-saint, battousai24, Seriadne, Guest 1, Guest 2, Nonnie, **__**FE96jAFFAR, JPElles**__, and __**Origamikiller12**__ for taking the time to drop reviews and followed and fav'd the story in my absence! It makes me happy seeing your enthusiasm to see the next episode :)_

_This will be the first and only time you'll see these mooks from Arendelle mafia. Think of it as a "warm-up" for the first Big Bad! ^_^_

_The next chapters won't have a delay as long as this one, I already have Episode 11 in the works. _

'_Til the next episode!_

_~MidnightStriker _


	12. Episode 11: Piling up on Cover-Ups

**Episode 11: Piling up on Cover Ups **

_There isn't usually *_THAT* _many people banking this early, _Anna mused as she walked by the Arendelle National Bank on her way home from the Smokin' Oaken. _And the bank doesn't have smoke coming out of it on a daily basi—WHOA._

The realization hit Anna like a brick. "Criminal activity equals Snow Queen appearance!" Anna exclaimed to no one in particular, "maybe I'll find her there."

Desperate to redeem her standing with Kristoff, Anna hurriedly made her way towards the bank. She frowned seeing the dense gathering of people, wondering if Kristoff was among the other news reporters swarming around the police barricade. Sighing, Anna hoped he at least got a glimpse of the heroine.

Eyes scanning for an easier way to infiltrate the bank, Anna noticed the hedges surrounding the walls of the building which was apparently unnoticed or ignored by the media.

As she was about to make her way towards the greenery, the leaves slightly rustled and a very beat-up looking Snow Queen emerged. As both eyes locked onto each other, the Snow Queen quickly readjusted her cape to conceal her limp arm. She conjured a sturdy ice cast to immobilize her arm, praying it would last until she can get to the hospital and, at the very least, to help her make it through the inevitable conversation she knows will soon be taking place.

Anna excitedly ran towards the vigilante, and fell into a step beside her, gazing up at her expectantly. When the Snow Queen didn't initiate conversation, the younger girl took it upon herself to do so.

"Hey," she began, flashing a smile, trying to ease the tension in the air, "you're just the person I was looking for."

"Isn't everyone looking for me anyway?" the Snow Queen snapped, but quickly regretted it when Anna's eyes flashed with hurt. "I mean, I'm sorry," the blonde continued, running her good hand through her hair, "rough day at work, as you can see."

"I…see." Anna nodded as she looked the other woman over, "Yeah, that's one nasty cut on your cheek!"

Her companion winced as Anna dabbed the wound with a handkerchief. "I think it's deep enough to leave a scar."

"Well, it's gonna be a beautiful scar."

The Snow Queen snorted. "Why would it be? It will look just like any other scars on anyone else. It's nothing special."

Anna adamantly shook her head. "It's gonna be beautiful because you earned it doing a good deed."

Despite feeling every inch of her body feeling sore, the Snow Queen couldn't help herself as she threw back her head and laughed, earning a smile from the younger girl. "You're so cheesy sometimes," the vigilante admitted, accepting the handkerchief as she did so.

"But it's true!" Anna did a mock pout, "it's not like you hurt yourself doing something reckless. Like skiing or something."

The Snow Queen smiled. "Thank you. You do know how to turn a bad day around."

"No problem," the younger girl responded, "that's what my sister says I do best."

"Er…yes. It's true," her companion quickly agreed. Quickly changing the topic, she asked, "so what exactly did you need me for?"

"Ah!" Anna's eyes cleared over, as though woken from a daydream. "Right. Well, you see, I was hoping that we could meet tonight. I know I'm pushing it, with you being beat up and all…" Anna knew she was between a rock and hard place, but remembering Kristoff's disappointed face urged her to press on, "I really need to talk to you about something."

The Snow Queen was about to argue, but a bolt of pain shot up through her arm once more. Knowing she couldn't win when it came to Anna, she nodded. "Fine. I'll meet you at the secret hedge again this evening, perhaps around ten?" Though she knew she might regret her rash decision later, she would rather have that regret than parting ways with a disappointed Anna.

The younger girl's eyes lit up. "Really? Thank you so much!" she hugged the Snow Queen, careful not to squeeze her any tighter than necessary, "I'll make it worth your while!"

* * *

The pair parted ways soon after, and as soon as the other girl was out of sight, Elsa quickly changed back to her civilian attire. She was thankful that her chauffeur was nearby; the blonde didn't think she had the strength to walk back to the office.

"Leif, please drive me to the hospital." Elsa announced as she climbed aboard her waiting vehicle, cradling her arm.

Seeing her chaffeur's eyes glance at her through the rearview mirror, Elsa caught Leif's worried glance. "Is anything the matter, miss Elsa?"

"I got mugged on the way back from the bank," Elsa replied, "I think I may have injured myself."

Concern turned to concern. "Should I call an ambulance or…?"

"I'll be fine, I think I just need a couple of x-rays to make sure nothing's broken."

Leif nodded, and they began the silent thirty minute drive to the hospital. After dropping off his mistress into the emergency room, Leif took out his mobile phone. "Hello, Gerda? I'm worried something happened with miss Elsa…"

* * *

Anna fiddled with her watch as she checked it for the umpteenth time. It was half-past ten, and the Snow Queen had yet to arrive. She was about to give up when the hedges parted and the Snow Queen emerged, still wearing her side-cloak style from earlier. Anna grinned as she stood up to greet her companion.

"So, is that style of wearing you cape a thing in the superhero world these days?" she joked.

The night visitor smiled slightly. "Yes, well, we decided that wearing it straight down the center was too mainstream."

Anna laughed as she gestured towards a small picnic basket. "Here, I brought some food. I mean, you must be hungry from running around town and all."

The Snow Queen accepted the sandwich handed to her. "I apologize for my tardiness," she began, "I had to go see an friend of mine."

"Really? What for?"

"I asked him to train me in some form of martial arts…I was almost beaten earlier today because I had no idea how to attack and defend physically."

"Oh. So…did he train you?"

The Snow Queen tried to stifle a smile when she saw the jealous look flit across Anna's face. "Don't worry. We have no romantic history whatsoever." Unable to help herself, she ruffled the younger girl's hair, earning her a giggle from her companion. The Snow Queen leaned back and continued her story, "And to answer your question, no, he refused to train me until my arm—er, I did some strengthening exercises for a few weeks. But he allowed me to watch several of his students do some warm-ups and stances."

"Cool! Can you show me?" Anna asked excitedly.

Brushing off the crumbs that gathered on her lap, the Snow Queen steadily rose and tried to apply what she learned by watching Shang's students.

"_Ki-yah_!" her foot struck the trunk a nearby tree. While still not as powerful as Shang's pupils (who _kicked punching bags, _for crying out loud!), she was at least able to get the tree to sway a bit and send some of its dead leaves to the ground.

Ever her cheerleader, Anna clapped her hands. "Keep on practicing, I'm sure you'll be stronger! But not _too_ strong, I might not keep up with you!"

The Snow Queen returned to her previous seat, where Anna had another question waiting for her. "So, why do you fight? You promised you'd tell me that when we met again."

"I suppose it's to protect people."

"Boring. That's part of the job description already. You're not a generic heroine with a generic philosophy, are you?"

"Heh. Fine," the Snow Queen leaned back and stared up at the sky, "you want to know my real reason? It's perhaps to prove to others that I wasn't some freak of nature just because I have powers. I want to show people I'm not a monster simply because I'm different."

"You're not a monster!" Anna protested, "who would call someone as strong and kind and chivalrous as you a monster?!"

The vigilante turned her head towards Anna. "Ou—my parents." She replied softly, "but it's not something I really want to discuss."

"I understand, I'm sorry for bringing that up," Anna apologized, moving closer to the Snow Queen, "but I just want you to know that there are many, many people who can attest to the fact that you're not what you think you are. You'll show them, right, Snow Queen? You'll show your parents that they were wrong about you all along."

* * *

Their rendezvous ended late, but Elsa still had to finalize several agendas for the next day's meeting. A knock on her door surprised her; most servants were already asleep.

"Who is it?" she called out.

"It's Gerda, miss." Came the reply.

Draping a robe over herself to cover her cast, Elsa opened the door and allowed Gerda in. The servant brought a fresh cup of tea, which Elsa was grateful for. "Please, have a seat Gerda." Both women took their places, and Elsa took a sip of her drink before she began.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked.

"I should be the one asking you that question, miss." Gerda answered.

"What do you mean?"

Gerda cut to the chase. "Your arm, miss. Leif called me earlier and said that you had to go to the hospital."

Elsa's face turned slightly pink. Maintaining her composure, she said, "it wasn't any of his business to tell other people about my accident."

"You understand that your staff cares about you, miss. Leif was only doing this out of concern."

Elsa was about to protest, but Gerda cut her off by gesturing towards the cast which now peeked from beneath Elsa's robe. "So what did the doctor say?"

"Oh, it's only a simple fracture," Elsa replied, "he said I will recover in a three weeks, sooner if it gets adequate rest and stays immobilized."

"Good to know," Gerda responded, "you won't be out of your business duties—and hero duties—for too long. Both sides need you, you know."

Elsa's eyes narrowed. "What are you getting to, Gerda?"

"I noticed that you have been slipping out of meetings, cutting back hours and having unaccounted absences," Gerda began, "It doesn't take rocket science to figure out there's something else you're preoccupied with. While the company is not compromised, as you are still present in major closings and events and do your duties, it does raise some concern to me as your servant since childhood that you may be engaging in reckless pursuits."

Elsa nodded. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Gerda, but I'm afraid that I can't tell you anything right now."

"That's understandable, miss. I don't understand the whole story, however, know that I will support you in your endeavors. It's just nice to see you happy—_truly _happy—like you were in your childhood." Gerda smiled in sagely understanding.

Shoulders dropping in relief, Elsa smiled back. "Thank you, Gerda. This means a lot to me. But this...'other business' isn't just what I'm truly happy about. I am also really happy to spend time with Anna."

"If that's so, then why aren't you spending as much time with her as you initially said you would?" Gerda calmly answered. Silencing Elsa's budding protest, the older woman went on.

"Let me finish. I'm not criticizing you, I'm just saying that you should cut back a bit on your extracurriculars and spend time with the poor dear. Heaven knows she looks like a lost puppy every time you're not home. Take her to a movie, or maybe spend dinner with her. You know it doesn't take much to make Anna happy."

"Thank you, Gerda," Elsa finally got a word in edgewise, "for everything. It's a relief knowing that someone else has my best interests in mind."

"Think nothing of it, dear," Gerda replied as she enveloped the blonde in an embrace, "A shared burden is a lighter one, after all."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **What?! Gerda is evolving! Congratulations, Gerda evolved into Alfred Pennyworth (just kidding!). So, let's hope that with all of Elsa's "cover-ups," she can still keep her story straight. Things are coming to a head now, folks! "Snowflake Vigilante" has seen another batch of readers and followers since the last update! We're now at 300+ follows and 148 favs! Thank you all! I'm always amazed by how many readers are joining us for the ride! _

_As always, shoutouts to SV's lovely reviewers: __**crazydiscounicorn, Spikesaggita, pandypaws, Swagrias, Invisibly Gone, TheElementHero, Just That Random Kid, BuriedHumanity, JPElles, syuchang, OneSpeedOneGear, HmmAwkward, patronustrip, battousai24, Guest, Claws McDonald, **__and __**Nonsense at it's Best!**__ It's encouraging to know I didn't totally fail that fight scene :)Thanks for always giving me a little happy boost! ^_^_

_**Swagrias: **__I hope this chapter answered your question (about Gerda, at least! :) ) Thank you for your review! It helped me become more aware of how the story goes. Yes, I noticed my pacing's gotten a bit choppier lately. Thing is, as I outlined my plot, there were several isolated moments that aren't meant to be dragged out but are vital to the advancement of the plot (as you can see with this chapter! ^_^). I try to make them flow as best I could, but sometimes it couldn't be helped! This should be the last of these "cases" and looking at the outline, it looks pretty more fluid after this :) _

_**Buried Humanity: **__There will be lots of Elsanna moments, I grant you that :) But Elsanna out of costume…er, that may be a little further down the road, my friend!_

_**JPElles: **__If Elsa were to practice a type of martial art, I'd think she might consider Wing Chun :D_

_**syuchang: **__I believe it was ^_^_

_**HmmAwkward: **__Thanks for sticking around! I'm glad that you're enjoying it so far!_

_**battousai24: **__Yep! Look forward to it :)_

_**patronustrip: **__O_O ! I know you from tumblr! You make the cutest Elsanna drawings! :) I'm glad that we met here :) Welcome aboard!_

_And to end this super long chapter + A/N, I *finally* finished what I think Elsa's costume looks like. I'm not very good at designing superhero outfits =)) So if you guys want to take a stab at your interpretation, I'd like to see what you come up with! My tumblr blog name is **lilies-de-kay**, so find it there~__**  
**_

'_Til the next episode!_

_~MidnightStriker_


	13. Episode 12: Broken Promises, Empty Words

**Episode 12: Broken Promises, Empty Words **

Elsa knew Anna was already awake when the tea in her cup suddenly went from its relatively undisturbed state to producing tiny, rippling waves. This signaled that the strawberry-blonde whirlwind was fast approaching the dining hall. Draping a blanket around her cast to make it less conspicuous, Elsa brightened her countenance in anticipation of sharing breakfast with her younger sister.

Anna, however, seemed to have other plans. Rather than her usually bright and cheery self, Anna had a worried look on her face and withdrawn demeanor when she entered the dining hall.

Elsa's face flashed with concern, though it wasn't enough to override fulfilling her small wish of sharing breakfast with Anna despite the younger girl's sullen mood. "Are you alright, Anna? Would you like to have some breakfast with me?" _Instead of wherever it is you're heading off to…_

Anna approached the table but didn't take a seat, just hovering near her usual place and tracing the armrest of her chair. Her face held a pout, eyes downcast and it was as if to have a raincloud hovering above her that threatened to burst. Whatever was bothering her, it seemed, was really serious. The worst part was that she didn't even seem to want to share her problem.

"Come now, Anna, tell me what's bothering you. After all, a shared burden is a lighter one," Elsa coaxed, echoing a sagely proverb she heard recently.

All she received in response was a shake of the head. _No._

_Guess I'm going to play 20 questions,_ Elsa thought as she began her inquiry, "Is it school?"

"School's fine, Els," Anna sighed as she reached for a biscuit. As if sensing Elsa's barrage of questions soon to follow, Anna made a quick follow-up statement. "Um…I'll be out today. I'll be hanging out with Kristoff."

"Oh." The disappointment in Elsa's voice was palpable, but she tried to mask it as best she could. "Well, don't stay out too late," she said cheerfully, reaching for Anna's hand.

When she was given a puzzled look, Elsa went on. "Let's go out to dinner tonight. You and me. And not fast food either. I'm thinking sit-down restaurant. Your choice. I'll make reservations for this evening." _Stop babbling like an idiot, Elsa, _the older girl warned herself. She looked at Anna expectantly, waiting for the younger girl's response and hoping that she would accept her proposition, or at the very least, have the promise of dinner out lighten her mood.

Like a sunbeam breaking through rainclouds, Anna's face indeed brightened a little bit. "Okay," she gave Elsa a small smile, "I like eating out."

"So, where are we going tonight?" Elsa replied.

"I'm feeling some breadsticks and pasta, so…how about that Italian restaurant? The Olive Patio?"

"It's a deal, then! If you _do_ arrive a smidgen earlier than me, don't finish all the breadsticks." Elsa joked.

Anna grinned back and replied with another proverb, "The early bird gets the worm, Elsa."

* * *

The Smokin' Oaken was quickly becoming Anna and Kristoff's usual rendezvous point. When Anna arrived at the café, Kristoff was already there, as usual. He had a cup of coffee between his hands, looking worse than he had the last time they met. He looked tired, and had the beginnings of dark circles forming around his eyes.

He wasn't just looking physically awful. His actions showed that he was nervous and jittery, often running a hand through his hair, making it more tousled than it already was. This made Anna feel even worse than she did when she received his message that morning to come meet her at the café as soon as possible, wanting to talk to her about something. Although the message didn't state what he wanted to talk to her about, Anna was 99.9% sure that it would be "20 Questions about the Snow Queen."

When Kristoff caught sight of the girl, he quickly called a waiter over and ordered a hot chocolate for Anna. "Hey," Anna began, accepting the hot chocolate that was soon brought to her. "Hey yourself," Kristoff nodded, trying to appear relaxed.

"So, that hostage situation yesterday," the blond went on, "pretty big, huh? And it happened like right after we separated."

"Yeah," Anna nodded, taking tiny sips of her beverage to calm her nerves.

"We shouldn't have split so early, though," The reporter continued, "I missed a great opportunity to meet the Snow Queen." Anna tried not to cough when she heard that bit of news.

"Don't try to act surprised. I saw you leave with her yesterday, Anna, and I hope you didn't forget to ask her some information." Kristoff said, looking directly at his companion.

Anna fell silent as she pondered on her dilemma, wondering why she dug herself into a hole by agreeing to meet with Kristoff that day.

Although her meeting with the Snow Queen ended far into the night, she totally forgot to ask any Kristoff-relative questions to the vigilante. Whenever she was around the blonde, it seemed, everything else seemed to be insignificant; even disappointing Kristoff again.

"I'm sorry," was all she could manage before seeing Kristoff's shoulders droop even lower, signaling that she increased his woes. "Really, she's just really secretive and doesn't like to share information…"

"Or it's _you_ who doesn't want to share information!" Kristoff interrupted, surprising Anna.

This didn't seem like Kristoff at all, he seemed really aggressive today. And his unfounded accusation set Anna off. "Why are you so intrigued about her, anyway? I mean, your news vans are always there every time she appears, so why do you need her personal information to gossip away to the public? Don't forget, she's a human being too! She isn't public property!" Anna shot back, intent on defending the Snow Queen.

"She's a _celebrity,_ Anna! People want to know who—or what exactly—is protecting them! And it's my job as a reporter to let them know!"

"She's _not_ a celebrity, Kristoff. There's a difference! She's just someone who keeps the peace like the police officers do, except she has powers!" Anna briefly paused for breath, "But if you want information that badly, here's something for your headline. The Snow Queen is a really private person, so she'd appreciate it very much if news teams will respect that and leave her alone."

Before Kristoff could reply, Anna placed a bill and some coins on the table. "I'm done here. Thanks for the hot chocolate."

* * *

Elsa was not having a smooth day, either.

_Of all days for everything to go awry,_ Elsa thought, staring at her dead phone. She let out an irritated sigh, watching the clock's hands moved ever closer to 7:30 P.M. She was supposed to meet Anna half an hour ago, but some things had to be done. Elsa tried to send Anna a message telling her that she was running late, but before she could press "SEND," her phone died, and she'd left her phone's charger at home.

To add to her woes, Ingrid, the woman she hired as a scribe for the day, had beautiful writing, but her pace could be comparable to a turtle—or maybe a snail.

_Why doesn't she know shorthand?!_ Elsa frowned as watched with mounting frustration her hired note taker slowly wrote the day's inventory in the company record books. Since Elsa's right arm was bound by a cast, she couldn't take her own notes and couldn't read the chicken scribble made by her left hand. Plus, with Gerda and Kai were busy meeting with some new investors, Elsa had no choice but to hire Ingrid.

Trying to speed things up in order to be on time for her and Anna's dinner date, the CEO managed to take some of the more important notes during the day's meetings by typing on her laptop, but one working hand can only do so much.

"Ingrid," Elsa began, "I appreciate you helping me out and all, but can we maybe speed it up a little? I have somewhere to be right now." The heavyset woman frowned, but grunted and gave a slight nod. Elsa watched the pen moved a fraction of a second faster. Elsa was about to tell her to speed it up once more, but a soft knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.

"Miss Elsa?" Kai announced as he entered the office, "I can take over from here. Anna just called me and said she was about to leave the Olive Patio. I told her you're on your way now, so she should sit tight for about fifteen minutes more. Things are just running a little…slowly." Kai gave a quick glance at Ingrid, before he continued, "I've already alerted Leif to pick you up."

"Thank you, Kai." Elsa breathed in relief as she bid farewell to the pair.

* * *

The normal ten-minute drive to the Olive Patio turned into forty. Traffic was heavy, as it was already the evening rush hour. Elsa borrowed Leif's phone in an attempt to contact Anna, Kai, or Gerda, but to her dismay, the man's phone book was completely empty.

"You don't have anyone's numbers on your phone?" Elsa asked him, trying to keep a level tone to mask her frustration.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," came the reply, "that's actually a new phone. The old one crashed this morning and I haven't had the chance to transfer my contacts to this one."

"…Thanks anyway," Elsa replied as she handed it back. As soon as the car's wheels came to a halt in front of the restaurant, Elsa jumped out and dashed inside, her eyes quickly scanning for a familiar almost-but-not-quite redhead.

"May I help you, miss?" the maître d' asked.

"Has the other guest on the reservation of 'Elsa' arrived?" Elsa asked.

"Yes, but I regret to say that she left around fifteen minutes ago." He responded.

"…I'll pay for whatever's been ordered."

"No need. She didn't order anything. The little miss just had our complementary bread sticks, so we can't charge anything for that."

Elsa mumbled her thanks as she exited the restaurant and made her way back to the car. "Was I too late, ma'am?" Leif asked apologetically as Elsa climbed aboard.

"Let's go home, Leif." The blonde responded as she fell back, exhausted, on the soft leather seat.

"At once, miss Elsa."

On the drive home, Elsa cradled her head in her hands. She would have a _lot_ of explaining to do to Anna, but she knew that the younger girl always tuned her out when it came to "The Business." Elsa frowned as she changed position to lean her head against the cool window pane, wondering how to make amends with Anna and have the younger girl hear her out. Suddenly, she was hit with a flash of inspiration.

As Elsa, she couldn't reach Anna. But as the Snow Queen, well, it was worth a shot.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **__Anyone has that day when everything that needs to go right just goes all…wrong? Isn't it really frustrating?! Anyway, I'm sorry! I know most of you have been wanting an Elsanna moment right now! But maybe there will be one in the next chapter? *hint* *hint*Stick with me, folks! I mean, Elsa's got a loooooooot of explaining to do. But actions speak louder than words, right? Hint, hint, __**hiiiiiiint.**__ And as for Kristoff, I won't spoil you, but he's not a bad guy, I promise! I would NEVER do that to him. :D _

_A big welcome to 'Snowflake's' new followers! OMYGOSH we hit 400! I'm so happy! Thank you, all! I hope you're enjoying the ride so far. Big thanks those who took the time to drop me some kind words of encouragement: __**TheElementHero, Z3R0-TH3-H3R0, battousai24, imsorrymissamerica, Spikesagitta, NoblePlatypus **__(whoa! Thanks for reviewing on previous chapters too! :) Gladly appreciated!)__**, pandypaws, patronustrip, Swagrias, northernlamplights, KroganThrashballer83, tutta88, thewordlessthinker, JPElles, **__and __**anon!**_

_**Spikesaggita: **__Gerda is Elsa's Chief Operating Officer (COO) [__**Episode 4**__]:)_

_**Swagrias: **__Thank you! I'd really appreciate that. I appreciate any and all help! _

_**northernlamplights: **__Eeep! Thanks for pointing out my typo! I'll get it fixed :) And thanks for your kind words! I do enjoy both art and writing :)_

_**KroganThrashballer83: **__Thanks so much! That's really encouraging! For me, it's a delicate balance trying to develop a normal pace towards Elsa and Anna's more-than-sisterly affection towards each other. I'm trying my best to make it as natural as possible, not just having one or the other wake up and suddenly feel, "Oh, I'm in love with my sister." _

_**tutta88: **__Aww, thank you! :) I'm glad that you're enjoying this! _

_**JPElles: **__Thank you! All will be revealed sooner than you think :) _

_All those who followed, fav'd, and reviewed, once again, thank you! Here's to the next episode._

_~MidnightStriker _


End file.
